About Latin America & the Caribbean

World's largest river basin, longest mountain range, richest gulf..

Stretching from Mexico in the north to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America, the Latin America and Caribbean region (LAC) encompasses 33 countries and extraordinary biological wealth.

Hosting the Amazon, Andes, Gulf of California, Pantanal...
Within its tropical, sub-tropical and temperate habitats you will find the Amazon, the world's largest river basin; the Andes, the world's longest mountain range; the Gulf of California, the world's richest gulf; and the Pantanal, the world's largest wetland. For this reason, this region is considered the richest biological zone on the planet. The flora and fauna of the region are exceptionally diverse.

The world's highest number of flowering plants, freshwater fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and primates are found in LAC - amounting  to 40% of the total plant and animal species on the planet.

The legendary Amazon rainforest alone nurtures some of the richest plant and animal communities on Earth and throughout the region, such marvels as fruit-eating fish, migratory bats and butterflies, spectacled bears, and tree frogs have excited imaginations for centuries.

Freshwater diversity
The LAC region is of significant importance for global freshwater biodiversity. This region contains over 30% of the planet's available freshwater and some of the most biologically diverse rivers on the globe, among them the Amazon, the Orinoco, and the Rio Grande or Rio Bravo. In addition, the region is home to the world's largest wetland, the Pantanal. Three times the size of Ireland, this wetland covers 3 countries (Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay).

Rich and diverse in every sense
This biological richness is almost rivaled by the ethnic and cultural diversity of the region's 510 million residents, who boast a rich heritage of Inca, Maya, Aztec, and hundreds of other native traditions, as well as of African, Iberian, and other European and Asian peoples.

Productive and diverse marine and coastal ecosystems
The LAC region is home to the world's most productive and some of the most biologically diverse marine and coastal ecosystems (Humbolt Current, Mesoamerican Reef, Gulf of California, Galapagos Islands, and the Southeast Atlantic).

WWF's presence in the region
Since 1961 WWF has supported over 1,000 conservation initiatives in over 30 LAC)countries.

Today, with an annual budget approaching US$25 million, the programme sustains several large-scale activities, most of them located in 7 focal areas - Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, and the Guianas - that together contain a large portion of the region's biological diversity.

WWF's programmes, often undertaken with local partner organizations, seek to empower local people to effectively manage their own natural resources.

Through education and communication, the organization encourages more citizens to participate in conservation initiatives, and helps shape local, national, and international policies that can build on and replicate the sound conservation efforts developed in individual communities.