Antarctica is the 5th largest continent and is approximately 1.5 times the size of the United States. It is also the coldest and windiest place on earth, and at its extreme, temperatures can drop down to as low as -90° C in winter. However, life thrives in some places of this huge continent and in the surrounding sub-Antarctic islands of South Georgia and Falklands.

Evergreen fire-dependent shrublands characterize the landscape of the Cape Floristic Region, one of the world's five Mediterranean hotspots. Home to the greatest non-tropical concentration of higher plant species in the world, the region is the only hotspot that encompasses an entire floral kingdom, and holds five of South Africa's 12 endemic plant families and 160 endemic genera. The geometric tortoise, the Cape sugar-bird, and a number of antelope species are characteristic of the Cape Floristic hotspot. Source: conservation.org

El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve expands for over 1,000 squared kilometers in the Southern Sierra Madre of Chiapas and is one of the biggest and better preserved extensions of cloud forest in Mesoamerica, an ecosystem highly threatened at a global scale, as its original extension has been reduced in a 60% in the last decades. The breathtaking mountains of El Triunfo, are reported to have one of the greatest diversity of tree species of North and Central American forests and to be one of the largest extension of forests remaining in Mexico. This humid, cold and silent ecosystem is the domain of organisms whose origins date back to a remote geological past. In fact, El Triunfo is one of the last paleorefuges in Mexico and provides shelter to numerous endemic species that had evolved separately from other members of their families. Centennial oaks and liquidambars covered in bromeliads and mosses are surrounded by scattered patches of ancient tree ferns which give these mountains a prehistoric mood and are home for an amazing biodiversity which includes 24% of the animal species registered in Mexico. A key region for migratory birds and a priority international conservation site, El Triunfo is the domain of the elusive horned guan –an endemic, turkey-like bird of the highlands of Mesoamerican hotspot and only survivor of a very ancient lineage that dates back to possibly as much as 40 million years. It is also home for one of the last remaining populations of resplendent quetzals in Mexico. In the first two weeks of April 2007 a group of five well-known conservation photographers and a crew of cameramen, writers and technical assistants performed a photographic expedition –the first iLCP’s RAVE, or Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition– to El Triunfo. The objective was to raise the awareness of society on this endangered ecosystem and to support with their images and commitment the activities of the El Triunfo Conservation Fund, a local NGO that works to preserve the last remnants of these forests in Mexico.

Guadalupe Island or Isla Guadalupe is a volcanic island located 241 kilometers off the west coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and some 400 kilometers southwest of the city of Ensenada in Baja California state, in the Pacific Ocean. Source: Wikipedia

The Neovolcanic Axis is a large mountain range running from west to east in the central portion of Mexico. This pine-oak forest ecoregion connects the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental opening its species diversity to both eastern and western regions while serving as a center of diversity itself. At the middle of this ecoregion the range is about 60 miles wide and 400 miles long and contains 13 of the highest peaks in Mexico. Some of these peaks rise into the Arctic Zone adding yet another habitat and increasing the possibilities of species diversity. This ecoregion however also holds some of the most populated states in Mexico, including Mexico City and is key for the future of the water supply.

The Simien Mountains lie in northern Ethiopia and are comprised in the Afromontane Hotspot, which harbors more endemic mammals, birds, and amphibians than any other region in Africa. They are a World Heritage Site and include the Simien Mountains National Park. As in many tropical areas, the main threat to this region is the expansion of agriculture, especially large crop plantations for crops like bananas, beans, and tea. Another relatively new threat, which coincides with the increasing population, is the growing bushmeat market.