The Story of Life & the Environment – An African Perspective is about the fragile miracle of life on our planet. It’s a celebration of life’s rich and wonderful diversity, and it unpacks the three major ecosystems: fresh water, the ocean and land.

It discusses evolution, how systems work, how populations expand and contract, and how all the elements of life interact. And it tells the story of humans: where we come from, and how we have evolved to become modern people.

The book also sounds a signal warning about our human impact on the planet. We can no longer ignore the realities: our climate is changing and we are depleting the planet's resources and destroying life at a rate equivalent to a mass extinction event. We have become the first species to threaten the destruction of our own habitat.

It is also about responsible planning and management of our environment and natural resources, of how we should respond to our planet’s distress, and of recent efforts to redress damage and ensure sustainability.

JO VAN AS has been HOD of Zoology & Entomology at South Africa's University of the Free State since 1988. He is a leading expert on African fish parasites, a prolific public speaker on environmental matters, the co-author of more than 150 papers and has supervised more than 40 Master and PhD-students.

JOHANN DU PREEZ is Departmental Chair of Plant Sciences at the University of the Free State. He is a recognized plant ecologist and environmental consultant who was also a contributing author of the recent book on the vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. He has a passion for environmental education and is currently involved in environmental radio programs.

LESLIE BROWN is Professor in Plant Ecology at the University of South Africa. His research interests include plant phytosociology, veld management, restoration, long-term monitoring, and plant/animal interactions. He currently heads the Applied Behavioural Ecology and Ecosystem Research Unit that conducts plant-animal interaction research in collaboration with various international institutions.

NICO SMIT, Professor in Ecology at North West University, South Africa, has written numerous popular science articles and contributed to national and international natural history TV shows.