Latin America and the Caribbean have an extremely impressive level of ecological biodiversity.  Many species and many different ecosystems can be found in the area.

Of the top ten countries in the world in terms of biodiversity, called the ecological mega-diversity countries, five are in Latin America.  These include Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru.

Latin America is home to 40% of all the species found in tropical forests throughout the world.  In fact, Colombia alone has 10% of the plant and animal species in the world.

The loss of habitat threatens many species found in Latin America, and could be a future cause of a severe loss of biodiversity.  Both tropical rain forests and savanna grasslands are being threatened with destruction.

Within the next four decades, the destruction of forest ecosystems alone could kill off 100,000-450,000 different species.  An estimated total of 5,000 to 20,000 of these species are plants.

In the Amazon region, another major problem threatens native habitats and biodiversity.  Habitat fragmentation has been 2.5 times as high as habitat destruction in recent years, and is a serious problem in other areas as well.

The Caribbean has lost many of the native species that once inhabited it, especially those that lived in forest areas.  Natural disasters such as hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquakes have destroyed many habitats, as have human developments on these small and often crowded islands.