COP15: Nations reach 'historic' deal to protect nature at Montreal summit

Countries adopted a historic deal to reverse decades of environmental destruction threatening the world's species and ecosystems at a marathon UN biodiversity summit in Montreal, Canada early Monday.

Some of the points the main points of the agreement include maintaining, enhancing and restoring ecosystems, including halting species extinction and maintaining genetic diversity. The "Sustainable use" of biodiversity - essentially ensuring that species and habitats can provide the services they provide for humanity, such as food and clean water was also agreed. And ensuring that the benefits of resources from nature, like medicines that come from plants, are shared fairly and equally and that indigenous peoples' rights are protected

China, which holds the presidency of the COP15, thought it had found a consensus on a compromise text presented on Sunday morning, which included progress on the areas to be protected and on the release of new financial resources for southern countries.

A plenary session had been convened at the end of the day to adopt this "peace pact with nature", which the planet sorely needs to stop the destruction of biodiversity and its resources essential to humanity.

But this has been constantly postponed since then. According to sources close to the negotiations, the Chinese presidency has multiplied the bilateral meetings in the evening.

Some countries of the South, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, continue to demand more financial means from rich countries to give their final approval.