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Global 200 facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The Global 200 is a special list of places on Earth that are super important to protect. It was created by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which is a group that works to save nature.

These special places are called ecoregions. An ecoregion is like a big area of land or water where plants and animals live together. They share similar weather, types of land, and natural conditions. The WWF chose these 200 ecoregions because they are home to many different kinds of plants and animals, and they are very important for the health of our planet.

The WWF also gives each ecoregion a "conservation status." This tells us how much danger the ecoregion is in. The statuses are:

  • Critical or endangered: These places are in big trouble and need urgent help.
  • Vulnerable: These places are at risk and could become endangered if we don't protect them.
  • Relatively stable or intact: These places are still mostly healthy, but we still need to watch over them.

Sadly, more than half of the Global 200 ecoregions are already endangered! This means they are in serious danger of losing their unique plants and animals.

Contents

Global 200: Land Ecoregions

These are important land areas.

Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests

These forests are warm and wet all year round. They have many tall trees with wide leaves. They are often called rainforests.

Africa

  • Guinean moist forests
  • Congolian coastal forests
  • Albertine Rift montane forests
  • Madagascar lowlands and subhumid forests

Australia and Pacific Islands

Asia

  • South Western Ghats montane rain forests (India)
  • Sri Lanka moist forests
  • Sumatran Islands lowland and montane forests
  • Philippines moist forests
  • Borneo lowland and montane forests

South and Central America

Oceania

  • South Pacific Islands forests
  • Hawaii moist forests

Tropical and Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests

These forests are also warm, but they have a dry season. Trees here often lose their leaves during the dry period.

Africa

  • Madagascar dry deciduous forests

Australia and Pacific Islands

  • Nusa Tenggara dry forests

Asia

  • Indochina dry forests

South and Central America

Tropical and Subtropical Coniferous Forests

These forests are warm and have many cone-bearing trees like pines.

North America

  • Sierra Madre Oriental and Occidental pine-oak forests (Mexico)

South and Central America

Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests

These forests are found in areas with four seasons. Trees here often change color in autumn.

Australia and Pacific Islands

Asia

  • Eastern Himalayan broadleaf and conifer forests

North America

  • Appalachian and mixed mesophytic forests

Europe and Northern Asia

  • Southwest China temperate forests
  • Russian Far East temperate forests

Temperate Coniferous Forests

These forests have many evergreen trees that bear cones, like firs and spruces. They are found in cooler, often mountainous areas.

North America

South America

Europe and Northern Asia

  • Caucasus-Anatolian-Hycanian temperate forests
  • Altai-Sayan montane forests

Boreal Forests/Taiga

These are cold, northern forests with lots of evergreen trees. They are found in places like Canada and Russia.

North America

  • Canadian taiga

Europe and Northern Asia

  • Ural Mountains taiga
  • East Siberian taiga

Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands

These are large areas of grass with scattered trees, often found in warm climates.

Africa

  • Horn of Africa acacia savannas
  • East African acacia savannas

Australia

  • Northern Australia and Trans-Fly savannas

Asia

  • Terai-Duar savannas and grasslands (India, Nepal)

South America

Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands

These are grassy areas in cooler climates, like prairies.

North America

  • Northern prairie (USA, Canada)

South America

Europe and Northern Asia

  • Daurian steppe (Mongolia, Russia, China)

Flooded Grasslands and Savannas

These are grassy areas that are often underwater for part of the year.

Africa

  • Sudd-Sahelian flooded grasslands and savannas

South America

  • Everglades flooded grasslands (USA)
  • Pantanal flooded savannas (Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay)

Montane Grasslands and Shrublands

These are grassy or shrubby areas found high up in mountains.

Africa

South America

Europe and Northern Asia

  • Tibetan Plateau steppe

Tundra

Tundra is a very cold, treeless area where the ground is often frozen.

North America

  • Alaskan North Slope coastal tundra

Europe and Northern Asia

  • Fenno-Scandia alpine tundra and taiga
  • Taimyr and Russian coastal tundra

Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Shrub

These areas have hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Plants here are often adapted to drought.

Africa

  • Fynbos (South Africa)

Australia

  • Southwestern Australia forests and scrub

North America

South America

Europe

Deserts and Xeric Shrublands

These are very dry areas with little rainfall. Plants and animals here are specially adapted to survive with little water.

Africa

  • Namib-Karoo-kaokoveld deserts
  • Madagascar spiny thicket

North America

South America

Europe and Asia

  • Central Asian deserts

Mangroves

Mangroves are special trees and shrubs that grow in salty coastal waters, often where rivers meet the sea. They are important nurseries for many sea creatures.

Africa

  • Gulf of Guinea mangroves
  • East African mangroves

Asia

South and Central America

  • Guianan-Amazon mangroves
  • Panama Bight mangroves

Global 200: Freshwater Ecoregions

These are important rivers, lakes, and wetlands.

Large Rivers

These are huge rivers that flow across continents.

Africa

Asia

North America

South America

Large River Headwaters

These are the areas where large rivers begin, often in mountains or highlands.

Africa

  • Congo basin piedmont rivers and streams

North America

South America

  • Upper Amazon rivers and streams
  • Upper Paraná rivers and streams

Large River Deltas

These are flat, low-lying areas where a river splits into many channels before flowing into the sea. They are very rich in wildlife.

Africa

Asia

  • Indus River Delta (India, Pakistan)
  • Mesopotamian delta and marshes (Iran, Iraq)

Europe

Small Rivers

These are smaller rivers and streams that are still very important for their unique wildlife.

Africa

  • Madagascar freshwater
  • Cape rivers and streams (South Africa)

Australia and Pacific Islands

  • New Guinea rivers and streams
  • New Caledonia rivers and streams
  • Kimberley rivers and streams (Australia)

Asia

  • Western Ghats Rivers and Streams (India)
  • Sundaland rivers and swamps (Malaysia, Indonesia)

North America

  • Southeastern rivers and streams (USA)
  • Pacific Northwest coastal rivers and streams (USA)

South America

  • Guianan freshwater
  • Greater Antillean freshwater (Cuba, Dominican Republic)

Large Lakes

These are very big lakes that are home to many unique species.

Africa

  • Rift Valley lakes (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, etc.)

South America

  • High Andean lakes (Peru, Bolivia)

Europe and Asia

Small Lakes

Even smaller lakes can be very important for nature.

Africa

  • Cameroon crater lakes

Australia and Pacific Islands

  • Lakes Kutubu and Sentani (Papua New Guinea)

Asia

  • Inle Lake (Myanmar)
  • Yunnan lakes and streams (China)

North America

  • Mexican highland lakes

Xeric Basins

These are dry areas where rivers and streams don't flow to the ocean, but instead dry up or flow into inland lakes.

Australia

  • Central Australian freshwater

North America

Global 200: Marine Ecoregions

These are important ocean areas.

Polar Seas

These are the very cold waters near the North and South Poles.

Antarctic Ocean

  • Antarctic Peninsula & Weddell Sea

Arctic Ocean

  • Bering Sea (USA, Russia)
  • Barents-Kara Sea (Norway, Russia)

Temperate Shelves and Seas

These are cooler ocean areas over continental shelves, where the water is not too deep.

Mediterranean Sea

North Temperate Atlantic

  • Northeast Atlantic Shelf Marine (Europe)
  • Grand Banks (Canada, USA)

North Temperate Indo-Pacific

Southern Ocean

  • Patagonian Southwest Atlantic (Argentina, Brazil)
  • New Zealand Marine

Temperate Upwelling Areas

Upwelling is when cold, nutrient-rich water from the deep ocean rises to the surface. This brings lots of food for marine life.

North Temperate Indo-Pacific

South Temperate Atlantic

  • Benguela Current (Namibia, South Africa)

South Temperate Indo-Pacific

Tropical Upwelling Areas

These are warm ocean areas where upwelling also brings nutrients to the surface.

Eastern Indo-Pacific

Tropical Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are like underwater cities built by tiny animals called corals. They are home to an amazing variety of fish and other sea creatures.

Central Indo-Pacific

Eastern Indo-Pacific

  • Hawaiian Marine
  • Fiji Barrier Reef

Western Indo-Pacific

Western Tropical Atlantic

Related pages

Images for kids

  • Ecoregions

    WWF Global 200 ecoregions.

  • Wwfeco

    WWF terrestrial ecoregions.

  • Ucayalirivermap

    Map of the Amazon Basin. Urubamba - Ucayali River.

  • Lijiang Lage

    Lijiang City, Yunnan, China.

  • Indiahills

    Hills of India.

  • Ocean drainage

    Major endorheic basins of the world. Basins are shown in dark gray; major endorheic lakes are shown in black.

  • Vegetation-no-legend

    Terrestrial biomes classified by vegetation.

See also

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