The volcanic archipelago of Saõ Tomé and Principe, off the Western coast of Central Africa, is home to a diversity of animals and plants that rivals the Galapagos islands. It harbours more than 200 species that exist nowhere else on Earth, including 27 endemic birds. While the lush tropical forests covering the islands’ steepest slopes have remained largely untouched, expanding agriculture, illegal logging and other unsustainable use of natural resources have led to forest loss and other habitat degradation in the country’s coastal lowlands. The spread of various introduced and invasive species puts further pressure on native fauna and flora. As a result, at least one third of the archipelago’s endemic species are threatened with extinction today.