David Uke Ukiwe Okali

David Uke Ukiwe Okali, B.Sc. (Lond.), M.A. (Oxon.), Ph.D. (Sheffield), Hon. D.Sc. (Umudike), Emeritus Professor of Forest Ecology, University of Ibadan; Fellow and Past President, Nigerian Academy of Science; Fellow, The World Academy of Sciences; Visiting Professor at Yale University, 1983, 1987; Chairman, UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme in Nigeria from 1978 to  2001;  Recipient, National Universities Commission Distinguished Professor Award, 2013; currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nigerian Environmental Study Action Team (NEST).

Professor Okali has, over the past fifty years, worked to build the human resources capacity and knowledge base for effective natural resources management and conservation. He has provided leadership in guiding society towards sustainable interaction with the environment, working with government and non-governmental institutions.  He was instrumental to providing critical baseline data for establishing important conservation assets in the country: rain forest in Cross River National Park and wetlands in Hadejia-Nguru Ramsar site. Current engagement is in building Nigeria’s response to climate change, through community- based pilot projects feeding into the formulation of national policies and local approaches for combating climate change in Africa.