The Maldives is a long narrow country in the Indian Ocean formed by 26 natural atolls. While most of the atolls are submerged underwater forming isolated reefs, some of them are above water and in the form of small coralline-based islands. The Maldives has some of the most complex coral reef systems in the world. For this reason, many different conservation efforts are made to protect the atolls, including efforts by WWF. The reefs are home to many different endangered and rare species including green sea turtles, loggerhead sea turtles, Cuvier's beaked whale and many different species of seabird. As they are critical habitat to such important biodiversity, Mission Blue declared the Maldive Atolls as a Hope Spot in 2013.
