Madagascar

One of the world's most biodiverse places is the island of Madagascar, which is off the southeast coast of Africa. Research teams continue to discover whole new species almost every time they visit Madagascar, an island home to around 11,000 endemic species that can only be found there. It's one of the nicest vacation spots you could want for if you love the outdoors and the natural world.

Deforestation and overharvesting, however, have recently led to the disappearance of a significant portion of the rainforest and the rich fauna that lived there. As one example, a research discovered that the lemur population on the island is declining alarmingly quickly. However, based on what is known so far, Madagascar's rainforest may really be in danger of disappearing in the coming decades if global warming and deforestation continue at the present rate.

• Location: Africa