More areas of the Congo and Amazon will be protected from deforestation, it was announced at the recent United Nations environmental summit in Bonn, Germany. Leaders from nearly 200 countries gathered at the conference to create plans for protecting endangered plants and animals — which scientists say are vanishing at a rate of 150 per day.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo said it would do its part by establishing 13 to 15 million hectares (up to 37 million acres) of new protected areas in its rainforests. Revered for its biodiversity, the Congo is a habitat for forest elephants, rare mountain gorillas and bonobos — the closest living relative of humans. The area is currently being depleted by poachers and illegal logging.

Brazil, too, pledged to create four new protected areas — including three in the Amazon — totaling 2.3 million hectares ( about 10,000 square miles). At least 89,000 square miles of the Amazon are already protected.

One of the new areas includes Mapinguari National Park, named after a mythical red sloth-like animal that is said to live in the rainforest.

Scientists say the incredible biodiversity found in rainforests hold the potential for important research — possibly even cures for human disease. What's more, 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions are said to come from the loss of tropical forests.

Brazil has long been criticized for failing to protect its Amazon from agricultural clear-cutting, but its leaders were praised for their actions at the UN summit. President Luiz Inacio Lula signed a decree protecting mahogany trees, a precious Amazonian resource. And Environment Minister Carlos Minc joined his counterparts in 60 countries in signing a commitment towards "zero net deforestation" by 2020. The World Wildlife Fund campaign asks that nations promise to replace any forests felled within their borders.