Protecting the planet is everyone's work. But we all have our own heroes in whatever area we are working. Planet Savers brings together the varied stories of the hundreds of movers and shakers that have spoken up throughout history and taken action to defend the world from pollution, deforestation, species loss and climate change.

From Theodore Roosevelt to Al Gore; from Francis of Assisi to David Attenborough – and from hundreds more men and women that you will know little, if anything, about. Scientists, artists, business people, priests, lawyers, poets, politicians, activists and more, from every continent of the world. Their work has enthused us about the natural world and warned us that we must do much more to preserve it. The Indian woman who became the world's first environmental martyr; the Baptist Reverend who asked "What Would Jesus Drive?"; the Quaker big game hunter who set up the first conservation organisation; the Shakespearian actor who revolutionised organic gardening; and the housewife whose campaign against toxic waste forced a President to act.

The book is a cornucopia of people who from time immemorial have put their careers, reputations and lives on the line to protect our planet from its governing inhabitants – the human race. Today, as thousands of species of animals and plants are faced with extinction, thousands of years of indigenous knowledge is lost in the face of technological advance, and we become more and more aware of the potential doomsday scenario of a warming world, we need Planet Savers more than ever.

Our inspiration can be the 301 environmental lives portrayed in this book. These people cared enough to do something about it. Planet Savers is both a tribute and a catalyst: a tribute to the people that loved the planet enough to want to act to save it, and a catalyst for the people who will be inspired to act after reading it. New Planet Savers are at work right now in rainforests and megacities; in community centres and boardrooms; at road protests and in courtrooms, all over the world. If this book has one great aim it is to inspire you, the reader, to join them. It is a book that every home should own.

Dr. Sileshi Bedasie Hirko is a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Advanced Scholar and a Postdoctoral Fellow affiliated with University of Ottawa and Open African Innovation Research Organization (Open AIR). From 2015-2020, he was a PhD Fellow at Open AIR and a Doctoral Student Scholar at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. Prior to 2015, he worked as an Assistant Professor at Haramaya University in Ethiopia. In addition to the PhD in Law he holds from University of Ottawa in Canada, the author has earned his LL.B from Haramaya University in Ethiopia and LL.M from Munich Intellectual Property Law Center in Germany. Having specialized in laws with a special focus on international IP, Competition Law and human development, among others, Dr. Sileshi has made several publications in the fields. His major areas of research interests include international IP, innovation, competition law, human development, human rights and civil laws.