A $150 million global fund has been launched to provide protection for environmental "hot spots" that contain the most dense array of plant and animal biodiversity around the planet.

The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), spearheaded by the World Bank, Conservation International, and the Global Environment Facility, will fund new national parks and also secure mining and timber rights in rain forests in Africa, Asia, and South America.

"Hot spots" where projects are targeted in the next two years include the Andes, Madagascar, West Africa, Costa Rica, Mexico, New Guinea and the Philippines.

*UPDATES*

June 12, 2001- With a grant of $25 million, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has joined the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, a major effort to preserve the most critically endangered and biologically richest areas on Earth.

June 6, 2002- The Japanese government announced today its most significant contribution ever to support private conservation groups by joining the CEPF. Each organization member has pledged to commit $5 million annually over five years to the fund. Since the Fund was launched in August 2000, the CEPF Donor Council has approved more than $69 million in grant resources, divided among the nine priority areas in Asia, Africa and Latin America.