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A historic deal has been announced to secure 30% of the planet as protected biodiversity zones by 2030 and for industrialised nations to offer up $30 billion dollars in yearly conservation aid to the developing world. After four years of talks, the UN biodiversity summit, known as COP15, finally agreed on the Chinese-brokered plan to attempt to reverse decades of environmental destruction threatening the world's species and ecosystems. Some African countries have objected to the fine detail in the plans. The Democratic Republic of Congo refused to sign the agreement, saying more funds were required. Gabon, often described as "Earth's Last Eden", did sign the agreement. The country's environment minister, Lee White, was at the summit: "It will be challenging to execute, but it gives us hope that we can start to rebalance Earth and take ourselves to a better balance between exploitation and preservation of nature." (Photo: African Forest Elephant, Loxodonta, in Loango National Park in Gabon. Credit: Getty Images)
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