Some of the best pictures from around the UK and world this week include examples from the Duke of Cambridge's Earthshot Prize competition.

Dr Maria Vozzo conducts a biodiversity count on one of Living Seawalls fitted to sea defences in Sydney, Australia, which mimic natural formations like rock pools and mangrove roots; while Pedro Garcia Rueda, a beneficiary of the Programme Enviromental Services Payment in Costa Rica, shows how he’s been able to harvest cocoa and plant trees to keep the forest in the same area.

The Duke of Cambridge has said the “amazing” entries in his Earthshot Prize competition should fill the world with “optimism and hope” as he announced the finalists. William launched the ambitious environmental prize to make a “positive personal” contribution in the fight against climate change, taking his inspiration from John F Kennedy’s Moonshot project which advanced mankind’s achievements.

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