Center for Applied Biodiversity Science

Since its creation in 1987, the mission of Conservation International (CI) has been to conserve our planet's biodiversity and to demonstrate that human societies can live harmoniously with nature. This mission is both science-based and people-centered, recognizing that conservation must rely upon the soundest scientific underpinnings, while at the same time addressing the needs and aspirations of human communities.

The core element of CI's strategic approach is the hotspots concept. First developed by British ecologist Norman Myers, it focuses heavily on areas that are rich in biodiversity, and especially in endemic species, while being under severe threat. CI has just completed a reanalysis of the hotspots, a three and a half year study involving some 100 experts from around the world (see results in Nature 403, 853– 858; 2000). Twenty-five terrestrial hotspots were identified, including several not previously recognized (see map). These areas once covered about 12% of the land surface of the planet, but cumulatively have lost 88% of their original natural vegetation; they are now down to just 1.4% of the Earth's land area. Although this area is only about three times the size of Texas, the hotspots harbor, as endemics, fully 44% of all vascular plants and 35% of all tetrapods (i.e., mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians).

THE 25 GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS

Paralleling the hotspots strategy is the major tropical wilderness areas approach. As with hotspots, these areas are also exceptionally rich in biodiversity; unlike the hotspots, they are still largely (>75%) intact, with low human population. Few and far between, these wilderness areas are found mainly in western and central Amazonia, the Guayana Shield region of northeastern Amazonia, the Congo Basin, and the island of New Guinea. About 60% of CI's programs focus on 13 of the 25 hotspots, while the remaining 40% are concentrated in the four wilderness areas.

CI has long been a leader in biodiversity conservation, having introduced innovative approaches and tools to the business of saving the full range of life on Earth. Included among its many firsts are the first-ever “Debt for Nature Swap,” the user-friendly conservation software CI/SIG tailored to the needs of developing countries, and the Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) designed to quickly and effectively survey poorly known tropical ecosystems. CI has also been a pioneer in engaging the private sector in conservation, including partnerships with Ford Motor Company to promote conservation in Brazil, with Intel Corporation to bring leading edge information technology to the field, and with Starbucks to market environmentally-friendly coffee from hotspot ecosystems.

Major new efforts include the Healthy Communities Initiative (1997), which investigates linkages between biodiversity and human health, and the Tropical Wilderness Protection Fund (1999), which focuses on setting aside large blocks of intact tropical forest. Finally, CI's Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS), established in 1999 and sponsor of this landmark supplement, is providing scientific leadership to the conservation community at large. In general, CI places great emphasis on partnerships with all sectors of society, since we believe that they are vital to making biodiversity conservation a reality.

CI is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and has offices in London, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Cape Town, and most of the 25 tropical countries in which it works in the field. More than 75% of the organization's 600 staff are based in the field and represent more than 30 different nationalities. Its budget in fiscal year 2000 is $33.6 million.

The organization is now positioning itself to set new standards for biodiversity conservation, among them a “moral high ground” of “zero deforestation – zero further species loss” for the hotspots. The first project under this banner is focusing on the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, through a major partnership with the Fundacao SOS Mata Atlantica, the largest Brazilian NGO. To further these and other major objectives, CI is now in the middle of a five-year, $200 million capital campaign to raise the resources necessary for its ambitious conservation program in the new millennium.

Most important of all, CI has a positive, optimistic, can-do philosophy to achieving its goals. We believe that flexibility, agility, and the ability to adapt and create new and innovative solutions can take the conservation movement a long way towards successfully meeting the enormous challenges of the first two decades of the new millennium.