About the Book
The book "Where have all the biodiversity gone?" represents the roll call of nature at its best by the author - Dr Paul Ola Igboji. It is very frightening and challenging. It has made me conscious of nature. The aura of beautiful world!. Lots of colours of nature like the rainbow: evergreen plants, deciduous plants, flowering plants, medicinal plants, timber, vegetables, cereal crops, root crops, tuber crops, plantation crops, horticultural/ornamental crops/plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, toads, frogs, fishes, shark, whale, marine, aquatic, terrestrial organism including bacteria, fungi, viruses, nematodes, centipede, millipede, earthworms, ants, butterflies, cockroaches, tse-tse flies, houseflies and billions of other creatures. All in the name of "biodiversity". Scientists, conservationists, farmers, teachers, kids, regulators, policy makers, government, in fact, the over six billion citizens of the world hold various views and beliefs about nature and biodiversity, their richness, shortfall, dangers, benefits, risks and future. It is generally believed that human activities and civilisation has had tremendous effects on biodiversity. The author in his characteristics pattern breaks the book into sections starting with an executive summary, background information, the magnitude of the problem and key efforts targeted at addressing them and moves into: what constitutes biodiversity, how do we measure biodiversity, where is biodiversity found. Other areas include: how many species of biodiversity exist worldwide; economics of biodiversity starting with extinction and economics: loosing something of value to patterns of extinction. The author delves into: ecological economics; public property resources; direct economic values; indirect economic values; option and existence value. Finally, the author poses the Almighty question: Why have all the biodiversity gone; extending the discourse to causes of extinction. In the authors conclusions he challenges us to look around and tell the world where the whole biodiversity have gone. Start with your indigenous plants and animals. Planting materials, agricultural seeds; natural foods, fruits, vegetables; native lizards, rats, parrots, butterflies, ants. Where are the local chickens, fowl, goats, sheep, cattle?. Where are the sweat smelling flowers, pollen grains, bees, beehives, honey?. Where are the indigenous weeds, flora, fauna including centipede, millipede, earthworms, euglena, amoeba and other plants and animals species that shook the scientific community of 14th - 19th century?. If Gregory Mendel is to come back to the world, where is his local peas to continue his research on genetics and hereditary. The question still remains "where have all the biodiversity gone?". You can make a difference by contributing to their conservation starting from you vicinity. Where the over 6 billion children and adult in the world do this, we shall have a biodiversity akin to what was on earth some 250 million years ago. Assuming any scientist has succeeded in getting the correct age of the universe. Otherwise, let us forget the past and work on the present, to guarantee the future. The author wished the people of the world in 250 million years to come good luck in their biodiversity. The work is loaded with colourful picture of what plant and animal biodiversity is all about and their various ecosystems. This master piece is a take home for conservationists, ecologists, biologists, researchers; environmental scientists, agriculturists, government, regulators, policy makers; terrestrial/arboreal/aquatic/marine experts and users; as well as all who depend on natural resources for their health and wellbeing. A popular adage says that a stitch in time saves nine. Let us join hands together to protect and conserve our natural resources for our overall benefits, health, wellbeing and prosperity. Anything contrary to that will spell doom for humanity.
