In The Law of the Wild, Ian Swingland offers a unique window into his life as a world-renowned conservation biologist. Captivating the reader with his adventures, exploits and near-death experiences, as well as sharing insights gained from advising powerful individuals in government and commerce, this is a book for those who are passionate about wildlife, biodiversity and its conservation. It is also a cracking good read as he shares stories from his close relationships with key figures in academia, business, charities and the bush.
From modest beginnings to worldwide authority, Ian has been at the centre of conservation for half a century - working with exotic (and humble) plants and animals, such as giant tortoises and komodo dragons - and setting up world-class institutions training future conservationists.
The book describes how our relationship with wildlife affects our behaviour and vice versa. This book is an inspiration to conquer the many threats to life on Earth and to take better care of the natural world.
Professor Ian Swingland was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's School, London, Edinburgh and Oxford Universities, and worked as a mathematician for Shell, as a biologist at Oxford, Edinburgh and with the Royal Society, and holds the Emeritus Chair in Conservation Biology at the University of Kent, where he founded The Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology (DICE), in addition to Visiting Chairs at the Universities of Michigan, Florence, Auckland, and Manchester Metropolitan. At London University he read zoology and social anthropology and published his first scientific paper in Nature in 1969 while an undergraduate. After working as a mathematician for Shell Research International for a short time he took a Ph.D. in ecology in the Forestry and Natural Resources Department at Edinburgh University on an FCO/ODA Scholarship. He was then employed as a research and management biologist in the Kafue National Park, Zambia helping to write the management plan. In 1974 he joined Oxford University Zoology Department and the Royal Society to work on the giant tortoises of Aldabra Atoll, Western Indian Ocean. Ian Swingland has worked on climate change for over a decade and with China and ADB since 2002 on China-GEF Country Planning Framework - Land Degradation in Dryland Ecosystems, He published a best-selling book 'Capturing Carbon and Conserving biodiversity; a market approach' and advised the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility, the Asian Development Bank, and Governments on conservation and biodiversity management setting up some of the largest projects in the world. A leading authority on commercialising the sustainable use of biodiversity assets, he was appointed Board Chairman of Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development in Guyana by the President, the Commonwealth and HRH The Prince of Wales.
