TopSpots

Species and habitats are facing numerous pressures, notable habitat loss for cultivation, the spread of non-native species and climate change. Given that financial and human resources to protect species will always be limited, the conservation community has developed tools to help focus attention to particular areas. In order to focus our global activities most effectively, Durrell has initiated a process of looking at the world in terms of areas that are most important in holding high proportions of creatures seen nowhere else on the planet.

Durrell has drawn up a list of 200 sites based on scientific analyses of the number, diversity and rarity of animals living in any one wildlife habitat. These exclusive habitats are found predominantly in islands, highlands and a number of lowland areas in some continents. The TopSpots cover 18% of the world’s land, but include a remarkable 77% of the world’s rarest species. Within these TopSpots Durrell has focused its activities on the island areas of the Galapagos in the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean, Madagascar and the Indian Ocean islands. Within continental lowlands, Durrell is working in the Assam region of north-east India.