This report describes a rapid assessment of Important Plant Areas in the south and east Mediterranean; a project designed to provide the ‘wild plant perspective’ for the regional investment strategy of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund. The project partnership of IUCN, Plantlife International and WWF with botanical teams from Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia, Syria and Albania, was supported by the French Development Agency. 10 recommendations have been developed to help direct the conservation of wild plants in the Mediterranean. Successful implementation of these will secure a sustainable future for the environment and inhabitants of this unique region; failure will condemn both to a poverty of natural resources and little or no resilience in the face of profound changes in climate.