World Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Encyclopedia
The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) is the "umbrella" organisation for the world zoo and aquarium community. Its mission is to provide leadership and support for zoos, aquariums, and partner organizations of the world in animal care and welfare, conservation of biodiversity, environmental education and global sustainability.
, Switzerland, ceased to exist during World War II, a new IUDZG was founded in Rotterdam in 1946 by a group of zoo directors from allied or neutral countries. In 1950 IUDZG became an international organisation member of International Union for the Protection of Nature (IUPN), later International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The IUDZG adopted a new name, World Zoo Organization, in 1991 and revised its membership rules to include regional zoo associations. In 2000 IUDZG was renamed as WAZA to reflect a more modern institution working together at a global level, to build cooperative approaches to common needs, to tackle common issues, to share information and knowledge, and represent this community in other international bodies such as the World Conservation Union (IUCN) or at Conferences of the Parties to global Conventions, such as CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity
) or CMS (Convention on Migrating Species
). Between IUCN and CMS or the secretariat of the Ramsar Convention
on Wetlands, there even exist formal Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs
).
When a number of regional zoo and aquarium associations were founded in different parts of the world (such as AZA
, EAZA
, BIAZA
, PAAZAB, ARAZPA
, AMACZOOA, JAZA
, SEAZA
) the IUDZG had to rethink its structure and functions. A decision for major changes was taken, in particular to shift membership from personal to institutional, to establish formal links with the regional associations, to be more proactive in various respects and to become more conservation oriented.
Together they are 'United for Conservation'.
WAZA institutional members includes more than 250 zoos and aquaria, as well as about 25 regional associations.
In addition, about 1300 zoos are linked to WAZA through membership in one of the regional or national association members, and more than 700 million visitors pass through these facilities each year.
All members of the WAZA network are obliged to comply with “WAZA's Code of Ethics and Animal Welfare”, adopted by WAZA in 2003.
These associations include:
The definition of "zoo" is a broad one and it may also incorporate aquarium
s, game reserve
s, aviaries
, safari park
s, rescue centers, sanctuaries
or even so called "roadside zoos" where animals are often kept in problematic sub-standard conditions.
In the view of the rest of the zoo community, which is committed to the principles of animal welfare
and conservation, these roadside zoos do a lot of damage to the image of zoos in general and should be either assisted to reach a level of minimum standard or be closed down (which of course raises the problem what should be done with the animals they keep).
Not all of sanctuaries are managed by experienced zoo professionals and staff, being able to deal with a variety of animals with different needs and requirements. Also the keeping conditions sometimes do not meet highest standards and in a number of instances the enclosures reach rather soon their carrying capacity, because it is usually very difficult if not impossible to release the animals into the wild (and also difficult to find suitable and appropriate places in zoos), making it impossible to further accept more animals.
This may give rise to unjustified critique towards zoos in general in particular by some animal rights groups, which object to the keeping of wild animals (and for that matter also of domestic animals and companion animals
in human care). Keeping wild animals in zoos is even seen as human domination over other creatures. On the other hand, objective and science-based critique by the less extreme and recognized animal welfare
organizations is usually well received and may lead to improvements of problematic keeping conditions in specific cases. The "umbrella organisation" worldwide for the world zoo and aquarium community today, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) has a complaint procedure, allowing to follow up on complaints received from the public.
Among the questions that may be raised are:
The modern type zoo aims to keep healthy, physically sound animals in natural surroundings, allowing them to behave naturally and normally. What is done in the interests of the animals kept is also done in the interest of the zoo visitors, who can thus observe the animals as if they were in nature.
The aims for the modern zoo are education
, research
, recreation
and conservation. In fact modern zoos consider themselves as centers for conservation of biodiversity
through captive breeding
programs ("ex-situ" conservation
) in particular of threatened species as well as various "in-situ" conservation
programs, such as reintroduction
and restocking projects, supporting in-situ conservation projects (protection of species and/or their habitat), transfer of knowledge and techniques, in situ educational programs aimed at the local people and at the politicians, biological programs (research and monitoring), socio-economical
projects, social work among the local people, PR
activities and much more on a national and international scale. Therefore some zoos call themselves today "conservation parks" or "bioparks".
In the world, zoos more and more see themselves as modern arks for endangered and rare species. Within the concept of the modern ark, even projects of “frozen zoo
s” have been initiated, where gamete
s and embryo
s are stored under deep-freeze conditions in order to preserve them for a very long time.
The mission of WAZA is to provide leadership and support for zoos, aquariums, and partner organizations of the world in animal care and welfare, conservation of biodiversity, environmental education and global sustainability
.
Indeed zoos are at present rapidly evolving to serve in multiple ways as conservation centres. Professional capacities of concern and subjects communicated to the public in earlier phases of zoo development are now vital services to conservation. As conservation centres, zoos must additionally address sustainable relationships of humankind and nature, explain the values of ecosystems and the necessity of conserving biological diversity, practice the conservation ethic throughout zoo operations and cooperate within the world zoo network and with other conservation organizations.
In recent years, great emphasis has been placed on creating new and dynamic exhibits at zoos that provide significant enrichment opportunities for the animals on display while also offering visitors a unique viewing and learning experience.
Immersion exhibit
s involve zoo visitors in the environmental circumstances of the animals and such experiences are conductive to favorable reception by visitors of strong conservation messages.
s and botanic garden
s can operate across the whole spectrum of conservation activities, from ex situ breeding of threatened species, research, public education, training and influencing and advocacy, through to in situ support of species, populations and their habitats. They uniquely have a massive ‘captive audience’ of visitors whose knowledge, understanding, attitude, behaviour and involvement can all be positively influenced and harnessed. They have a huge resource of technical skills and dedicated people. As habitats shrink and collection-managed populations grow, the definition of what is a zoo, what is a botanic garden, what is a reserve, and who is a collection-based conservationist, who is a field-based conservationist, will inevitably blur. Indeed zoos, aquariums and botanic gardens have an opportunity to establish themselves as models of ‘integrated conservation’. In the German speaking part of Europe e.g. 45 zoos have united themselves in the “Foundation species conservation” with the purpose to advertise conservation projects on a large scale.
Today many animal species are threatened with extinction to a great extent because of increasing threats to their natural habitat.
Zoos do not only keep such species in their custody with a view to maintaining ex situ reserve populations, but they increasingly link their ex situ
activities with conservation projects in the field (“in situ
”).
With the human population worldwide constantly increasing together with an ever increase in demand for resources, and destruction of natural habitats, the role of zoos as conservation centres and ark
s will become even more important in the coming years, combined with accumulating experience and knowledge on ex-situ and in-situ conservation by the worldwide zoo community, which is increasingly committed to integrated conservation.
Since these efforts are largely invisible to the general public, in 2003 WAZA started allowing organisations to request and use the WAZA brand on projects executed or supported by the WAZA constituency. Currently more than 150 projects around the world are WAZA branded.
In 2005 a revised, second strategy, “Building a Future for Wildlife: the World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strategy”, was published by the World Zoo and Aquarium Association (WAZA). This document reinforces and expands the overall themes of the first document and presents a vision of the roles that all zoos and aquariums can and must play in the conservation of wildlife and of their ecosystems. The 72 page document, which is the result of assistance and advice from over 350 people, is truly international in its scope and in its production.
The Strategy is aimed at all zoos and aquariums, however large or small, however rich or poor, and not just those that are members of WAZA. The Strategy provides a common philosophy for zoos and aquariums across the globe and defines the standards and policies that are necessary to achieve their goals in conservation. The 2005 Strategy will be of use and interest not to only zoo and aquarium people but to anyone concerned with biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.
The document begins with a supportive foreword from the Director General of The World Conservation Union (IUCN), and a preface by the President of WAZA and by the Chair of the WAZA Conservation Committee, that set out the genesis and production of the Strategy. The document comprises nine chapters, with each chapter having a summary, a vision statement, a main text, conclusions, and a series of recommendations.
This Strategy will be used by individual zoos and aquariums, by national and regional associations, and by WAZA itself, as the basis for the development of action plans for the implementation of the recommendations.
The document is available today in English, German and Russian. Bahasa, French, Japanese and Polish versions, as well as Urdu, Hindi, Bengali or Bangla, Dari and Singala summaries are currently under preparation.
In 2009, the World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strategy (WZACS) was especially implemented for the international aquarium community in the document intitled Turning the Tide: A Global Aquarium Strategy for Conservation and Sustainability.
(2008), 37 animal species are “extinct in the wild”. Zoo-bred animals of several species listed by IUCN as “extinct in the wild” did survive in zoos and have been reintroduced to parts of their former range in recent years (Partula spp.
, Père David's deer
EW
, Scimitar-horned oryx
EW
).
The IUCN list does contain also other species, which were extinct in the wild in the past, but have “survived in human care” and several of them have been reintroduced by zoos and wildlife parks to their original habitat (Californian condor
CR, Red wolf
CR, Black-footed ferret
EN
, Przewalski's horse
CR, Mhorr gazelle
CR, Arabian oryx
EN
, European bison
VU
, American bison
NT
).
However the IUCN does not list two species of Seychelles giant tortoise
s which were rediscovered recently surviving in human care.
, and a staff member of the WAZA executive office acts as International Studbook Coordinator. Within WAZA, the Committee on Population Management (CPM) is the body dealing primarily with studbook issues.
As of March 2008, there were 183 international studbooks including all subspecies and species that are kept as separate studbooks. Altogether, there are studbooks (international and regional) and/or breeding programmes for more than 850 different taxa.
Conservation breeding programmes (such as the Species Survival Plan
(SSP), established 1981, or the European Endangered Species Programme
(EEP), established 1985) are typically organized at the level of the regional associations, in particular AZA
and EAZA
, because the exchange of animals between regions is expensive and - mainly due to veterinary restrictions - difficult. At its 2003 Annual Meeting, however, WAZA adopted a procedure for establishing interregional programmes, which may concern a number of species for which International Studbooks have been established.
Until today only few of the rare, endangered or extinct-in-the-wild species could be saved from complete extinction by keeping and breeding them in human care. But it may be well too early to really evaluate the contribution of zoos breeding programmes to the preservation of biodiversity.
Two examples of WAZA supported projects on the occasion ot the International Year of the Gorilla 2009 are:
The Nouabalé - Ndoki Project in Democratic Republic of the Congo is supported by the WCS
(USA), Toronto Zoo
(Canada), La Palmyre Zoo
(France), La Vallée des Singes (France), USAID
(CARPE program), USFWS
, and FFEM
. Since the early 90s, WCS aims to help conserve biodiversity in Congo by working with the government, local communities and private sector partners to adopt a landscape scale management approach, establishing and maintaining a network of well-managed protected areas,
including the Nouabalé - Ndoki National Park.
Conservation of the Cross River gorilla
in Nigeria, implemented by Kolmarden Foundation, the Great Ape Trust
of Iowa (Iowa Zoo), Columbus Zoo, Zoo Boise, supported by Wildlife Conservation Society (Bronx Zoo
), Great Ape Conservation Fund (US Fish and Wildlife Service), African Great Apes Programme (WWF
), Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation, Berggorilla and Regenwald Direkthilfe, North Carolina Zoo
.
The Cross River gorilla project in Nigeria has four main
components:
Living animals have an enormous power of attraction. Seeing, hearing and smelling them has huge educational significance in itself. The primary goal of living exhibits is education
and educators increasingly are involved in the design of the exhibits. Animals are displayed in more natural settings, mixed exhibits and/or exhibits provide contextual story-led or message-driven experiences, using a variety of interpretation techniques. With an increasingly urbanized
population, this contact with nature is of vital importance and zoos build on it to promote and support conservation. Visitors will then more easily understand the concepts of biodiversity
and the interdependence of species, habitat
s and ecosystem
s, and recognize the links with human actions.
Of course zoos and aquariums have recognized that the visitors’ experience is also affected by the welfare of the animals and their enclosures. Zoos therefore ensure that positive educational messages are not compromised or confused by poor conditions or poor husbandry and that the animals are exhibited in the best conditions possible, in enclosures that enable them to live as naturally as possible and to exhibit natural behaviour as far as possible.
Furthermore enclosures clearly and correctly identify the animals in them. Signs highlight threatened species and species in regional, national and international coordinated breeding programmes.
A number of activities allow informal education
, such as keeper talks, close encounters, hands-on experiences, exhibits that allow visitor access, exhibits with a clear biological theme. Whenever animal demonstrations form part of the programme, they contain an education or conservation message.
Resource material and education information is displayed and made available to the general public and zoo audience. This includes leaflets, guidebooks, teachers’ notes, resource packs and worksheets.
WAZA provides interactive, structured educational workshops, classes, and resources tailored to meet the specific needs of groups, zoos and aquariums and contribute to learning and understanding as part of local and national curricula frameworks. Many zoos now have an education department, a classroom, and full time educational officers.
WAZA encourages all of its staff to participate in local, national, regional and international networks such as the International Zoo Educators Association
(IZEA) and its regional groups.
There are two main divisions of research in zoos and aquariums: (1) research that is aimed at new knowledge to help the institution achieve its goals, and (2) research that is undertaken in a zoo by others to achieve their own goals, without being inconsistent with those of the organization. Under the first division would fall research on husbandry, visitor preferences, educational and interpretation methods, conservation approaches etc., to a greater or lesser extent depending on a zoo’s particular mission. The latter division would include assisting researchers from universities and research organizations by providing access to and or material from non-domesticated species for comparative analyses.
It is impossible to describe all of the research undertaken by and at zoos and aquariums. Though there are areas of overlap, research can be divided into the following categories:
is today not the main aim of zoos anymore, it is clear that it plays still a very important role. People, especially from urbanized areas are often alienated from nature, have in a zoo the opportunity to relax and to enjoy a naturalistic environment in their very neighborhood. The profound positive influence nature – also in form of plants and companion animals – has on the psychic well-being of men, women and children in the very hectic, technical (and often virtual) world today has been demonstrated many times. Zoos make here no exception. They are places without the daily stress of the professional life, usually places of quiet and calmness with profound positive emotional experiences that allow people to immerge into another world – even in the middle of busy cities. This therefore is also one of the many reasons why zoos are visited today by young and old by the millions.
Of course zoos today know that this positive experience is only possible if the visitor has the impression that the animals are healthy and well kept in naturalistic habitat-like enclosures. Therefore when planning new exhibits today this is taken into consideration.
Together with the increasing practical experiences in modern animal husbandry
, various developments in the science of veterinary medicine
(in particular prevention and control of parasites
and causes of disease
), enormous technical advances and of course the accumulation of knowledge of all kinds, it became possible to venture exhibits which before had not seemed possible.
Zoos today provide exhibits of such size, volume, structure and objects as to allow the animals to express their natural behaviours. Also the animals are provided areas to which they may retreat. In addition separate facilities are available to allow separation of animals where necessary, e.g. cubbing dens. Efforts are made to protected animals at all times from conditions detrimental to their well-being.
Proper feeding management of wild animals in zoos and aquariums incorporates both husbandry skills and applied nutritional sciences. As a basic foundation of animal management, nutrition is integral to longevity, disease prevention, growth and reproduction. Additionally food collecting and/or gathering contributes to behavioral enrichment and provides occupation. Quite elaborate systems of food presentation (dead rats) have been developed (e.g. in Switzerland for wild cats), where computer programmed various mechanic devices allow the animals in the enclosure to search for prey as in their natural environment. However in some cases animals in zoos need to be fed with other live animals, because they would not eat non-living food items. Whenever this has to be done however, the prey should have, as in natural conditions, a possibility to hide and it must be assured that the prey animal is killed as quickly as possible without pain and suffering. Whenever the animals accept dead prey or food items, they are not to be given live animals as food.
Indeed most contemporary zoos led by professionals are aware of environmental enrichment, also called behavioral enrichment, as a part of the daily care of animals. Environmental enrichment refers to the practice of providing animals with environmental stimuli
. The goal of environmental enrichment is to improve an animal's quality of life by increasing physical activity, stimulating natural behaviors, and preventing or reducing stereotypical behaviours.
Also the use of behavioral training, as another method of behavioral enrichment, has often contributed to the animals well-being as well as allowed zoos to improve dramatically their ability to care for animals, while reducing animal stress and increasing safety for both keeper and animal during care procedures. It is self evident that such training must be done by expert keepers in a way that is appropriate to the animals, based on biological and scientifically sound learning principles.
The situation is somewhat different for aquaria, where – although an increasing number of fish and invertebrates can be bred in human care – still newly acquired animals are predominantly wild-caught. One of the reasons is that reproduction in aquaria just has not been possible yet or is – still – too expensive.
In fact the World Zoo Conservation Strategy published in 1993 states "that the commercial wild animal trade as a source of zoo animals should cease as soon as possible. Such animals as must be collected from the wild must be collected for specific educational and conservation purposes. They should not be chosen from dealers’ lists of animals randomly collected for commercial purposes." These goals, while more pertinent in 1993, are still valid and show up again in the World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strategy published in 2005. This of course means that zoos today disapprove of selling their “surplus” animals to animal dealers, auctions and game farms, unaccredited zoos and individuals without the necessary knowledge and expertise, respectively without the keeping-license required by national legislation.
All animals being transferred are usually accompanied today by appropriate records with details of health, diet, reproductive and genetic status and behavioural characteristics having been disclosed at the commencement of negotiations. These records will allow the receiving institution to make appropriate decisions regarding the future management of the animal. All animal transfers must conform to the international standards and laws applying to the particular species. Where appropriate or required by legislation, animals are accompanied by qualified staff.
Government agencies and animal welfare organizations also contact zoos whenever the need arises to place an animal confiscated because it has been illegally imported or acquired or has been rescued from unsuitable circumstances and which needs special and expert care and appropriate housing. Zoos usually are cooperative but they also may have to decline to take such animals in their custody when e.g. they do not have appropriate quarantine
facilities, have no appropriate enclosures, fear the risk of disease
when accepting an animal of unknown origin, don’t see any purpose in incorporating an animal of unknown origin into their breeding program or see no way how such an animal could be integrated socially into their group of conspecifics.
In keeping with the requirements of animal welfare standards, the adaptive capacity of wild animals in zoos must not be compromised, nor their functional capabilities allowed to atrophy. Furthermore animals in zoos must be kept in a manner that accommodates their natural behaviour. Reproductive behaviour is central to this consideration. Reproduction in all its aspects (courtship
, pair bonding, nest building, parents-infant bonding, socialization of the young, integrating offspring into the group, influencing the social structure, transfer of knowledge, capabilities and traditions etc.) is indeed a significant part of the animal’s natural behaviour. Impeding reproduction may cause distress, social disorder, deprivation etc. Therefore, generally speaking, animals should not be prevented from breeding. However whilst this principle is valid for all animal species irrespective of their anthropocentric emotional value, it is not applicable to each and every individual. In the implementation of this principle, it may be necessary to humanely euthanize individual animals at times that approximate certain critical events they would encounter in the wild state (e.g. birth, weaning
, leaving the family group). In nature animals generally produce surplus offspring and not every individual is actually able to reproduce. In addition to the already mentioned critical phases in the life cycle of an animal, various other factors such as emigration
, immigration
, disease, predation
, competition
, famine
and climate regulate population sizes. Reproductive management in zoos should reflect natural circumstances. In regulating the size of their animal stocks and populations zoos thus may pursue the following strategies:
When contraception is considered, the possible side effects of both surgical and chemical contraception, as well as the negative impact on behavior and social structure of the group should be considered before the final decision to implement contraception is made.
When all options have been investigated and none of these measures are feasible without causing stress or impacting upon group behaviour and the decision is taken that it is necessary to euthanize an animal, care will be taken to ensure it is carried out in a fear free environment and a manner that ensures a quick death without suffering. Euthanasia may be controlled by local customs and laws but should always be used in preference to keeping an animal alive under conditions which do not allow it to experience an appropriate quality of life. Whenever possible a post-mortem examination should be performed and biological material preserved for research and gene conservation. If ethics
and legislation
allows it, there is nothing wrong with “recycling” remains of such animals into the zoo’s own food chain
.
Zoos usually avoid talking about death. In particular, they do not convey that sometimes it may be unavoidable to kill animals with a view of keeping a breeding programme alive and viable.
The largest problem for long-term conservation breeding at zoos will be the lack of understanding by the public that nature is based on surplus, i.e. that always more animals are born than are necessary for maintaining their own species, and that these surplus animals will end up in the food chain, thus ensuring the survival of other species.
, Switzerland
at this time. Since May 2010, the WAZA Executive Office is situated in the heart of IUCN’s newly-built Conservation Centre in Gland, Switzerland
. Under a MOU
it provides also secretariat support to the International Zoo Educators Association
(IZEA).
History
After an earlier International Union of Directors of Zoological Gardens (IUDZG), founded in 1935 at BaselBasel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, Switzerland, ceased to exist during World War II, a new IUDZG was founded in Rotterdam in 1946 by a group of zoo directors from allied or neutral countries. In 1950 IUDZG became an international organisation member of International Union for the Protection of Nature (IUPN), later International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The IUDZG adopted a new name, World Zoo Organization, in 1991 and revised its membership rules to include regional zoo associations. In 2000 IUDZG was renamed as WAZA to reflect a more modern institution working together at a global level, to build cooperative approaches to common needs, to tackle common issues, to share information and knowledge, and represent this community in other international bodies such as the World Conservation Union (IUCN) or at Conferences of the Parties to global Conventions, such as CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity
Convention on Biological Diversity
The Convention on Biological Diversity , known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is an international legally binding treaty...
) or CMS (Convention on Migrating Species
Bonn Convention
The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals aims to conserve terrestrial, marine and avian migratory species throughout their range...
). Between IUCN and CMS or the secretariat of the Ramsar Convention
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...
on Wetlands, there even exist formal Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs
Memorandum of understanding
A memorandum of understanding is a document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used in cases where parties either do not imply a legal commitment or in...
).
When a number of regional zoo and aquarium associations were founded in different parts of the world (such as AZA
Association of Zoos and Aquariums
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums was founded in 1924 and is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation.The AZA headquarters is located in Silver...
, EAZA
European Association of Zoos and Aquaria
-External links:*...
, BIAZA
British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums
The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums is a conservation, education and scientific wildlife charity. Founded in 1966 within the zoo and aquarium community to see the principles and practices of animal management adopted in the British Isles...
, PAAZAB, ARAZPA
ARAZPA
The Zoo and Aquarium Association, formerly known as the Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria, was established in 1990 "to link zoos and aquariums in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific in a cooperative regional network for wildlife conservation."-Wildlife...
, AMACZOOA, JAZA
Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums
The Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums is an organisation for the Japanese zoo and aquarium community. Currently, JAZA has about 90 member zoos and 70 member aquariums in Japan. JAZA seeks to protect nature and animals through educational and conservation outreach.-History:JAZA was...
, SEAZA
South East Asian Zoos Association
The South East Asian Zoos Association is an organization for South East Asian zoos and aquariums with the vision that "member zoos utilize their animal collections for the primary purposes of educating our public by imparting messages on the urgent need for environmental conservation in a manner...
) the IUDZG had to rethink its structure and functions. A decision for major changes was taken, in particular to shift membership from personal to institutional, to establish formal links with the regional associations, to be more proactive in various respects and to become more conservation oriented.
Organisation
Members of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums include leading zoos and aquariums, and regional and national Associations of Zoos and Aquariums as well as some affiliate organizations, such as zoo veterinarians or zoo educators, from all around the world.Together they are 'United for Conservation'.
WAZA institutional members includes more than 250 zoos and aquaria, as well as about 25 regional associations.
In addition, about 1300 zoos are linked to WAZA through membership in one of the regional or national association members, and more than 700 million visitors pass through these facilities each year.
All members of the WAZA network are obliged to comply with “WAZA's Code of Ethics and Animal Welfare”, adopted by WAZA in 2003.
Network
The 1,300 ‘core’ zoos of the world are organized in national and/or regional zoo associations.These associations include:
- Africa
- Regional association for all of Africa: PAAZAB (Pan African Association of Zoological Gardens, Aquaria and Botanical Gardens)
- Asia
- National associations in: China, India, Indonesia, JapanJapanese Association of Zoos and AquariumsThe Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums is an organisation for the Japanese zoo and aquarium community. Currently, JAZA has about 90 member zoos and 70 member aquariums in Japan. JAZA seeks to protect nature and animals through educational and conservation outreach.-History:JAZA was...
, Pakistan, Thailand - Regional association for South East Asia: SEAZASouth East Asian Zoos AssociationThe South East Asian Zoos Association is an organization for South East Asian zoos and aquariums with the vision that "member zoos utilize their animal collections for the primary purposes of educating our public by imparting messages on the urgent need for environmental conservation in a manner...
(South East Asian Zoos Association) - Regional association for South Asia: SAZARCSouth Asian Zoo Association for Regional CooperationThe South Asian Zoo Association for Regional Cooperation or is an organization for South Asian zoos and aquariums. SAZARC was established on August 4, 2000 at the first meeting of South Asian Zoos, held at Central Zoo, Kathmandu, Nepal, initiated by the Zoo Outreach Organisation . It became a...
(South Asian Zoo Association for Regional Cooperation)
- National associations in: China, India, Indonesia, Japan
- Australasia/Oceania
- Regional association for Australia and New Zealand: ZAA (Zoo and Aquarium Association)
- Europe
- National associations in: Austria, Czechia/Slovakia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United KingdomBritish and Irish Association of Zoos and AquariumsThe British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums is a conservation, education and scientific wildlife charity. Founded in 1966 within the zoo and aquarium community to see the principles and practices of animal management adopted in the British Isles...
- Regional association for all of Europe: EAZAEuropean Association of Zoos and Aquaria-External links:*...
(European Association of Zoos and Aquaria)
- National associations in: Austria, Czechia/Slovakia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
- Latin America
- National associations in: Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, VenezuelaNational Foundation of Zoological Parks and AquariaThe National Foundation of Zoological Parks and Aquariums , was created in 1991. FUNPZA is assigned to the . The objective of FUNPZA is advising and support to zoological and the national aquariums, as well as the control of its technical and professional performances...
- Regional association for Meso America: AMACZOOA (Association of Meso American and Caribbean Zoos and Aquaria)
- Regional association for the subcontinent: ALPZA (Latin American Zoo and Aquarium Association)
- National associations in: Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela
- North America
- National association in: CanadaCanadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums-External links:*...
- Regional association for the subcontinent: AZAAssociation of Zoos and AquariumsThe Association of Zoos and Aquariums was founded in 1924 and is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation.The AZA headquarters is located in Silver...
(American Zoo and Aquarium Association)
- National association in: Canada
Support for zoos and aquariums of the world
According to the umbrella organization, there are two characteristics that all the institutions known as ‘zoos’ have in common:- Zoos possess and manage collections that primarily consist of wild (nondomesticated) animals, of one or more species, that are housed so that they are easier to see and to study than in nature.
- Zoos display at least a portion of this collection to the public for at least a significant part of the year, if not throughout the year.
The definition of "zoo" is a broad one and it may also incorporate aquarium
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
s, game reserve
Game reserve
A game reserve is an area of land set aside for maintenance of wildlife for tourism or hunting purposes. Many game reserves are located in Africa. Most are open to the public, and tourists commonly take sightseeing safaris or hunt wild game....
s, aviaries
Aviary
An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds. Unlike cages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages...
, safari park
Safari park
A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial tourist attraction where visitors can drive in their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals...
s, rescue centers, sanctuaries
Animal sanctuary
An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and be protected for the rest of their lives. Unlike animal shelters, sanctuaries do not seek to place animals with individuals or groups, instead maintaining each animal until his or her natural death...
or even so called "roadside zoos" where animals are often kept in problematic sub-standard conditions.
In the view of the rest of the zoo community, which is committed to the principles of animal welfare
Animal welfare
Animal welfare is the physical and psychological well-being of animals.The term animal welfare can also mean human concern for animal welfare or a position in a debate on animal ethics and animal rights...
and conservation, these roadside zoos do a lot of damage to the image of zoos in general and should be either assisted to reach a level of minimum standard or be closed down (which of course raises the problem what should be done with the animals they keep).
Not all of sanctuaries are managed by experienced zoo professionals and staff, being able to deal with a variety of animals with different needs and requirements. Also the keeping conditions sometimes do not meet highest standards and in a number of instances the enclosures reach rather soon their carrying capacity, because it is usually very difficult if not impossible to release the animals into the wild (and also difficult to find suitable and appropriate places in zoos), making it impossible to further accept more animals.
This may give rise to unjustified critique towards zoos in general in particular by some animal rights groups, which object to the keeping of wild animals (and for that matter also of domestic animals and companion animals
Pet
A pet is a household animal kept for companionship and a person's enjoyment, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful...
in human care). Keeping wild animals in zoos is even seen as human domination over other creatures. On the other hand, objective and science-based critique by the less extreme and recognized animal welfare
Animal welfare
Animal welfare is the physical and psychological well-being of animals.The term animal welfare can also mean human concern for animal welfare or a position in a debate on animal ethics and animal rights...
organizations is usually well received and may lead to improvements of problematic keeping conditions in specific cases. The "umbrella organisation" worldwide for the world zoo and aquarium community today, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) has a complaint procedure, allowing to follow up on complaints received from the public.
Among the questions that may be raised are:
- the conditions under which animals are kept, often precipitated by some unusual event such as an escape or an accidental death, and commonly expanded into a challenge of the legitimacy of holding any animals captive;
- euthanasia generally, but particularly as relates to the disposal of genetic surplus or highly sentient individuals;
- the feeding of live prey and, in some cases, whole animal carcasses;
- transfers of individuals between zoos, particularly when social relationships that are believed to have attributes in common with those of humans are ruptured as a result;
- the use of animals in entertainment, especially performing animals;
- bringing new animals in from the wild to augment captive holdings or to start new breeding programs;
- the employment of invasive technologies such as embryo manipulation or exogenous hormonal stimulation in breeding efforts;
- all research involving animals, even when it is the health and longevity of animals that stand to benefit.
The modern type zoo aims to keep healthy, physically sound animals in natural surroundings, allowing them to behave naturally and normally. What is done in the interests of the animals kept is also done in the interest of the zoo visitors, who can thus observe the animals as if they were in nature.
The aims for the modern zoo are education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
, recreation
Recreation
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun"...
and conservation. In fact modern zoos consider themselves as centers for conservation of biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
through captive breeding
Captive breeding
Captive breedingis the process of breeding animals in human controlled environments with restricted settings, such as wildlife reserves, zoos and other conservation facilities; sometimes the process is construed to include release of individual organisms to the wild, when there is sufficient...
programs ("ex-situ" conservation
Ex-situ conservation
Ex-situ conservation means literally, "off-site conservation". It is the process of protecting an endangered species of plant or animal outside of its natural habitat; for example, by removing part of the population from a threatened habitat and placing it in a new location, which may be a wild...
) in particular of threatened species as well as various "in-situ" conservation
In-situ conservation
In-situ conservation is on-site conservation or the conservation of genetic resources in natural populations of plant or animal species, such as forest genetic resources in natural populations of tree species...
programs, such as reintroduction
Reintroduction
Reintroduction is the deliberate release of a species into the wild in zones formerly inhabited by said species but where it has disappeared from for a number of reasons, from captivity or relocated from other areas where the species still survives in...
and restocking projects, supporting in-situ conservation projects (protection of species and/or their habitat), transfer of knowledge and techniques, in situ educational programs aimed at the local people and at the politicians, biological programs (research and monitoring), socio-economical
Socioeconomics
Socioeconomics or socio-economics or social economics is an umbrella term with different usages. 'Social economics' may refer broadly to the "use of economics in the study of society." More narrowly, contemporary practice considers behavioral interactions of individuals and groups through social...
projects, social work among the local people, PR
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
activities and much more on a national and international scale. Therefore some zoos call themselves today "conservation parks" or "bioparks".
In the world, zoos more and more see themselves as modern arks for endangered and rare species. Within the concept of the modern ark, even projects of “frozen zoo
Frozen zoo
A frozen zoo is a storage facility in which genetic materials taken from animals are gathered and thereafter stored at very low temperatures for optimal preservation over a long period of time...
s” have been initiated, where gamete
Gamete
A gamete is a cell that fuses with another cell during fertilization in organisms that reproduce sexually...
s and embryo
Embryo
An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
s are stored under deep-freeze conditions in order to preserve them for a very long time.
The mission of WAZA is to provide leadership and support for zoos, aquariums, and partner organizations of the world in animal care and welfare, conservation of biodiversity, environmental education and global sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
.
Indeed zoos are at present rapidly evolving to serve in multiple ways as conservation centres. Professional capacities of concern and subjects communicated to the public in earlier phases of zoo development are now vital services to conservation. As conservation centres, zoos must additionally address sustainable relationships of humankind and nature, explain the values of ecosystems and the necessity of conserving biological diversity, practice the conservation ethic throughout zoo operations and cooperate within the world zoo network and with other conservation organizations.
In recent years, great emphasis has been placed on creating new and dynamic exhibits at zoos that provide significant enrichment opportunities for the animals on display while also offering visitors a unique viewing and learning experience.
Immersion exhibit
Immersion exhibit
An immersion exhibit is a naturalistic zoo environment that gives visitors the sense they're actually in the animals' habitats. Buildings and barriers are hidden...
s involve zoo visitors in the environmental circumstances of the animals and such experiences are conductive to favorable reception by visitors of strong conservation messages.
Integrated conservation
Only zoos, aquariumPublic aquarium
A public aquarium is the aquatic counterpart of a zoo, housing living aquatic species for viewing. Most public aquariums feature tanks larger than those kept by home aquarists, as well as smaller tanks. Since the first public aquariums were built in the mid-19th century, they have become popular...
s and botanic garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
s can operate across the whole spectrum of conservation activities, from ex situ breeding of threatened species, research, public education, training and influencing and advocacy, through to in situ support of species, populations and their habitats. They uniquely have a massive ‘captive audience’ of visitors whose knowledge, understanding, attitude, behaviour and involvement can all be positively influenced and harnessed. They have a huge resource of technical skills and dedicated people. As habitats shrink and collection-managed populations grow, the definition of what is a zoo, what is a botanic garden, what is a reserve, and who is a collection-based conservationist, who is a field-based conservationist, will inevitably blur. Indeed zoos, aquariums and botanic gardens have an opportunity to establish themselves as models of ‘integrated conservation’. In the German speaking part of Europe e.g. 45 zoos have united themselves in the “Foundation species conservation” with the purpose to advertise conservation projects on a large scale.
Today many animal species are threatened with extinction to a great extent because of increasing threats to their natural habitat.
Zoos do not only keep such species in their custody with a view to maintaining ex situ reserve populations, but they increasingly link their ex situ
Ex-situ conservation
Ex-situ conservation means literally, "off-site conservation". It is the process of protecting an endangered species of plant or animal outside of its natural habitat; for example, by removing part of the population from a threatened habitat and placing it in a new location, which may be a wild...
activities with conservation projects in the field (“in situ
In-situ conservation
In-situ conservation is on-site conservation or the conservation of genetic resources in natural populations of plant or animal species, such as forest genetic resources in natural populations of tree species...
”).
With the human population worldwide constantly increasing together with an ever increase in demand for resources, and destruction of natural habitats, the role of zoos as conservation centres and ark
Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...
s will become even more important in the coming years, combined with accumulating experience and knowledge on ex-situ and in-situ conservation by the worldwide zoo community, which is increasingly committed to integrated conservation.
WAZA-Branding of in situ Projects
Members of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the wider WAZA Network undertake or support thousands of in situ, or combined ex situ-in situ projects. It is estimated that zoos, aquariums and zoo and aquarium associations jointly expend in excess of 50 million EURO per year for such projects. Reintroduction and restocking projects have been undertaken with about 200 species. In addition, in situ activities include now often also educational programmes aimed at the local people and at the politicians, biological programmes (research and monitoring), socio-economical projects, social work among the local people, PR activities and much more on a national and international scale – all in order to secure the conservation efforts far into the future.Since these efforts are largely invisible to the general public, in 2003 WAZA started allowing organisations to request and use the WAZA brand on projects executed or supported by the WAZA constituency. Currently more than 150 projects around the world are WAZA branded.
The World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strategy
In 1993, The World Zoo Organisation (IUDZG) and the Captive Breeding Specialist Group of The World Conservation Union (IUCN) published The World Zoo Conservation Strategy. That strategy defined, for the first time in a single document, the responsibilities and opportunities that the international zoo and aquarium community needed, in order to be fully involved in nature conservation. The pressures and threats to wildlife remain and have indeed increased. The need for help in conservation has intensified. It is therefore an opportune time for all zoos and aquariums to re-examine the ways and means by which they can consolidate and increase their support and involvement in conservation.In 2005 a revised, second strategy, “Building a Future for Wildlife: the World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strategy”, was published by the World Zoo and Aquarium Association (WAZA). This document reinforces and expands the overall themes of the first document and presents a vision of the roles that all zoos and aquariums can and must play in the conservation of wildlife and of their ecosystems. The 72 page document, which is the result of assistance and advice from over 350 people, is truly international in its scope and in its production.
The Strategy is aimed at all zoos and aquariums, however large or small, however rich or poor, and not just those that are members of WAZA. The Strategy provides a common philosophy for zoos and aquariums across the globe and defines the standards and policies that are necessary to achieve their goals in conservation. The 2005 Strategy will be of use and interest not to only zoo and aquarium people but to anyone concerned with biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.
The document begins with a supportive foreword from the Director General of The World Conservation Union (IUCN), and a preface by the President of WAZA and by the Chair of the WAZA Conservation Committee, that set out the genesis and production of the Strategy. The document comprises nine chapters, with each chapter having a summary, a vision statement, a main text, conclusions, and a series of recommendations.
This Strategy will be used by individual zoos and aquariums, by national and regional associations, and by WAZA itself, as the basis for the development of action plans for the implementation of the recommendations.
The document is available today in English, German and Russian. Bahasa, French, Japanese and Polish versions, as well as Urdu, Hindi, Bengali or Bangla, Dari and Singala summaries are currently under preparation.
In 2009, the World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strategy (WZACS) was especially implemented for the international aquarium community in the document intitled Turning the Tide: A Global Aquarium Strategy for Conservation and Sustainability.
Extinct in the Wild - Surviving in Human Care
According to the current Red List of IUCNIUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
(2008), 37 animal species are “extinct in the wild”. Zoo-bred animals of several species listed by IUCN as “extinct in the wild” did survive in zoos and have been reintroduced to parts of their former range in recent years (Partula spp.
Partula (genus)
Partula is a genus of air-breathing tropical land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Partulidae.Many species of Partula are known under general common name "Polynesian Tree Snail" or as "Moorean Viviparous Tree Snail".Partulids are spread over of Pacific Ocean islands,...
, Père David's deer
Père David's Deer
Père David's Deer, Elaphurus davidianus, also known as the Milu , is a species of deer known only in captivity. It prefers marshland, and is believed to be native to the subtropics of China. It grazes on a mixture of grass and water plants. It is the only extant member of the genus Elaphurus...
EW
Extinct in the Wild
Extinct in the Wild is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa, the only known living members of which are being kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range.-Examples:...
, Scimitar-horned oryx
Scimitar Oryx
The Scimitar Oryx, or Scimitar-Horned Oryx, is a species of oryx which formerly inhabited the whole of North Africa. It has been classified as extinct in the wild by the IUCN.-Etymology and taxonomy:...
EW
Extinct in the Wild
Extinct in the Wild is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa, the only known living members of which are being kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range.-Examples:...
).
The IUCN list does contain also other species, which were extinct in the wild in the past, but have “survived in human care” and several of them have been reintroduced by zoos and wildlife parks to their original habitat (Californian condor
California Condor
The California Condor is a New World vulture, the largest North American land bird. Currently, this condor inhabits only the Grand Canyon area, Zion National Park, and coastal mountains of central and southern California and northern Baja California...
CR, Red wolf
Red Wolf
The red wolf is a North American canid which once roamed throughout the Southeastern United States and is a glacial period survivor of the Late Pleistocene epoch...
CR, Black-footed ferret
Black-footed Ferret
The Black-footed Ferret , also known as the American polecat or Prairie Dog Hunter, is a species of Mustelid native to central North America. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN, because of its very small and restricted populations...
EN
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
, Przewalski's horse
Przewalski's Horse
Przewalski's Horse or Dzungarian Horse, is a rare and endangered subspecies of wild horse native to the steppes of central Asia, specifically China and Mongolia.At one time extinct in the wild, it has been reintroduced to its native habitat in Mongolia at the Khustain Nuruu...
CR, Mhorr gazelle
Dama Gazelle
The Dama Gazelle is a species of gazelle. It lives in Africa in the Sahara desert and migrates south in search of food during the dry season. Their habitat includes open steppes, bushy, grassy steppes, semi-desert, and deserts, while their diet includes grasses, leaves, shoots, fruit, and...
CR, Arabian oryx
Arabian Oryx
The Arabian Oryx or White Oryx is a medium sized antelope with a distinct shoulder hump, long straight horns, and a tufted tail. It is a bovid, and the smallest member of Oryx genus, native to desert and steppe areas of the Arabian peninsula...
EN
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
, European bison
Wisent
The wisent , Bison bonasus, also known as the European bison or European wood bison, is a species of Eurasian bison. It is the heaviest surviving land animal in Europe; a typical wisent is about long, not counting a tail of long, and tall. Weight typically can range from , with an occasional big...
VU
Vulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
, American bison
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
NT
Near Threatened
Near Threatened is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa that may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future, although it does not currently qualify for the threatened status...
).
However the IUCN does not list two species of Seychelles giant tortoise
Seychelles giant tortoise
The Seychelles giant tortoise has been thought to be extinct since the mid-19th century due to overexploitation on the granitic Seychelles islands. Similar giant tortoise species on other Indian Ocean islands such as Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues Island are also extinct...
s which were rediscovered recently surviving in human care.
International Studbooks
International Studbooks for endangered and rare species are kept under the auspices of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). In most cases, staff of WAZA Member Institutions serve as studbook keepers. The International Studbook Office is hosted by the Zoological Society of LondonZoological Society of London
The Zoological Society of London is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats...
, and a staff member of the WAZA executive office acts as International Studbook Coordinator. Within WAZA, the Committee on Population Management (CPM) is the body dealing primarily with studbook issues.
As of March 2008, there were 183 international studbooks including all subspecies and species that are kept as separate studbooks. Altogether, there are studbooks (international and regional) and/or breeding programmes for more than 850 different taxa.
Conservation Breeding Programmes
Animal collections in individual zoos and aquariums are typically too small to be of much value to long-term conservation. Therefore, cooperative international or regional ex situ breeding programmes are required to form large, viable populations. These cooperative breeding programmes serve many purposes: providing animals for public educational and/or exhibit opportunities; providing fund-raising material; providing research collections from which to gain basic knowledge of animal biology and husbandry; and, on a larger scale, providing demographic and genetic backup to wild populations. To serve in all of these roles fully, these populations must be viable over the long term. This requires that they be demographically stable, healthy, well maintained and capable of self-sustaining reproduction, distributed among several institutions to lessen the risks of catastrophic loss, of sufficient size to maintain high levels of genetic diversity.Conservation breeding programmes (such as the Species Survival Plan
Species Survival Plan
The American Species Survival Plan or SSP program was developed in 1981 by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to help ensure the survival of selected species in zoos and aquariums, most of which are threatened or endangered in the wild....
(SSP), established 1981, or the European Endangered Species Programme
European Endangered Species Programme
The European Endangered Species Programme or EEP is the most intensive type of population management for a species kept in European Association of Zoos and Aquaria zoos...
(EEP), established 1985) are typically organized at the level of the regional associations, in particular AZA
Association of Zoos and Aquariums
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums was founded in 1924 and is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation.The AZA headquarters is located in Silver...
and EAZA
European Association of Zoos and Aquaria
-External links:*...
, because the exchange of animals between regions is expensive and - mainly due to veterinary restrictions - difficult. At its 2003 Annual Meeting, however, WAZA adopted a procedure for establishing interregional programmes, which may concern a number of species for which International Studbooks have been established.
Until today only few of the rare, endangered or extinct-in-the-wild species could be saved from complete extinction by keeping and breeding them in human care. But it may be well too early to really evaluate the contribution of zoos breeding programmes to the preservation of biodiversity.
Relationship with IUCN
- WAZA provides financial support to IUCN Species Survival CommissionIUCN Species Survival CommissionThe IUCN Species Survival Commission is a special commission operated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The commission's "major role is to provide information to IUCN on biodiversity conservation, the inherent value of species, their role in ecosystem health and functioning,...
and to its Specialist Groups, such as the South American Camelid Specialist Group. - WAZA promotes the use of the newly-developed IUCN Red ListIUCN Red ListThe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
of Threatened Species branding and many zoos and aquariums have already in 2010 made use of it. - WAZA has published on December 1, 2009 a book on ‘The Future of Wildlife’ to mark the 2010 International Year of BiodiversityInternational Year of BiodiversityThe International Year of Biodiversity was a year-long celebration of biological diversity and its value for life on Earth, taking place around the world in 2010...
, with contributions from partners including IUCN. - WAZA supports international endeavours for amphibian conservation and is partnering with IUCN and its Conservation Breeding Specialist Group in the ‘Amphibian ArkAmphibian ArkThe Amphibian Ark is a joint effort of three principal partners: the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums , the IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group , and the IUCN/SSC Amphibian Specialist Group ....
’.
Projects
WAZA works in partnership with international organisations with a view to contribute to the conservation of biodiversity.Two examples of WAZA supported projects on the occasion ot the International Year of the Gorilla 2009 are:
The Nouabalé - Ndoki Project in Democratic Republic of the Congo is supported by the WCS
Wildlife Conservation Society
The Wildlife Conservation Society based at the Bronx Zoo was founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society and currently manages some of wild places around the world, with over 500 field conservation projects in 60 countries, and 200 scientists on staff...
(USA), Toronto Zoo
Toronto Zoo
The Toronto Zoo is a zoo located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It opened August 15, 1974 as the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo and is owned by the City of Toronto; the word "Metropolitan" was dropped from its name when the cities of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto were amalgamated to form the...
(Canada), La Palmyre Zoo
Palmyre Zoo
La Palmyre Zoo is a zoo in Les Mathes, Charente-Maritime, France. It was created in 1966 in the forest of the Les Mathes by Claude Caillé...
(France), La Vallée des Singes (France), USAID
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
(CARPE program), USFWS
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
, and FFEM
French Global Environment Facility
The French Global Environment Facility is a French conservation organisation.The FGEF was established in order to promote a sustainable global environment and works all across Latin America, Africa and Asia in the protection of ecosystems...
. Since the early 90s, WCS aims to help conserve biodiversity in Congo by working with the government, local communities and private sector partners to adopt a landscape scale management approach, establishing and maintaining a network of well-managed protected areas,
including the Nouabalé - Ndoki National Park.
Conservation of the Cross River gorilla
Cross River Gorilla
The Cross River gorilla is a subspecies of the western gorilla that can be found on the border between Nigeria and Cameroon, in both tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests which are also home to the Nigeria-Cameroon Chimpanzee, another subspecies of great ape...
in Nigeria, implemented by Kolmarden Foundation, the Great Ape Trust
Great Ape Trust
The Great Ape Trust is a ape sanctuary and language study in Des Moines, Iowa, that houses orangutans and bonobos. The sanctuary opened to primates on September 28, 2004. The mission of the Great Ape Trust is studying language, culture, intelligence, and tool use in primates...
of Iowa (Iowa Zoo), Columbus Zoo, Zoo Boise, supported by Wildlife Conservation Society (Bronx Zoo
Bronx Zoo
The Bronx Zoo is located in the Bronx borough of New York City, within Bronx Park. It is the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States, comprising of park lands and naturalistic habitats, through which the Bronx River flows....
), Great Ape Conservation Fund (US Fish and Wildlife Service), African Great Apes Programme (WWF
World Wide Fund for Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...
), Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation, Berggorilla and Regenwald Direkthilfe, North Carolina Zoo
North Carolina Zoo
The North Carolina Zoo is located in Asheboro in Randolph County, North Carolina in the Uwharrie Mountains near the geographic center of the state, approximately west of Raleigh, NC, United States. At , it is the largest "walk-through" natural-habitat zoo in the world, the first in the United...
.
The Cross River gorilla project in Nigeria has four main
components:
- Support for protected area development
- Landscape level conservation action
- Research
- Conservation education
Education
Zoos and aquariums appeal to a very broad audience and have huge visitor numbers throughout the world. They enable people to develop appreciation, wonder, respect, understanding, care and concern about nature. They therefore have the potential to be a very important source of environmental awareness, training and action for a sustainable future on a local, national, regional or international scale. In fact they are excellent centres in which to inform people about the natural world and the need for its conservation. Awareness can be converted into action with positive benefits for wildlife, people and conservation.Living animals have an enormous power of attraction. Seeing, hearing and smelling them has huge educational significance in itself. The primary goal of living exhibits is education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and educators increasingly are involved in the design of the exhibits. Animals are displayed in more natural settings, mixed exhibits and/or exhibits provide contextual story-led or message-driven experiences, using a variety of interpretation techniques. With an increasingly urbanized
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
population, this contact with nature is of vital importance and zoos build on it to promote and support conservation. Visitors will then more easily understand the concepts of biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
and the interdependence of species, habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s and ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
s, and recognize the links with human actions.
Of course zoos and aquariums have recognized that the visitors’ experience is also affected by the welfare of the animals and their enclosures. Zoos therefore ensure that positive educational messages are not compromised or confused by poor conditions or poor husbandry and that the animals are exhibited in the best conditions possible, in enclosures that enable them to live as naturally as possible and to exhibit natural behaviour as far as possible.
Furthermore enclosures clearly and correctly identify the animals in them. Signs highlight threatened species and species in regional, national and international coordinated breeding programmes.
A number of activities allow informal education
Informal education
Informal education is a general term for education outside of a standard school setting. It can refer to various forms of alternative education, such as:* Unschooling or Homeschooling* Autodidacticism * Youth Work...
, such as keeper talks, close encounters, hands-on experiences, exhibits that allow visitor access, exhibits with a clear biological theme. Whenever animal demonstrations form part of the programme, they contain an education or conservation message.
Resource material and education information is displayed and made available to the general public and zoo audience. This includes leaflets, guidebooks, teachers’ notes, resource packs and worksheets.
WAZA provides interactive, structured educational workshops, classes, and resources tailored to meet the specific needs of groups, zoos and aquariums and contribute to learning and understanding as part of local and national curricula frameworks. Many zoos now have an education department, a classroom, and full time educational officers.
WAZA encourages all of its staff to participate in local, national, regional and international networks such as the International Zoo Educators Association
International Zoo Educators Association
The International Zoo Educators' Association is a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the education programmes in zoos and aquariums....
(IZEA) and its regional groups.
Research
Today, through their living collections, zoos and aquariums can make a unique contribution to conservation-directed research. No other network of institutions can provide, as a resource for study, representative populations of so diverse an array of the world’s wildlife. In addition, zoos and aquariums offer a rare venue for researchers and the public to meet and communicate, providing a platform for interpreting the outcome of research and explaining the implications for conservation action.There are two main divisions of research in zoos and aquariums: (1) research that is aimed at new knowledge to help the institution achieve its goals, and (2) research that is undertaken in a zoo by others to achieve their own goals, without being inconsistent with those of the organization. Under the first division would fall research on husbandry, visitor preferences, educational and interpretation methods, conservation approaches etc., to a greater or lesser extent depending on a zoo’s particular mission. The latter division would include assisting researchers from universities and research organizations by providing access to and or material from non-domesticated species for comparative analyses.
It is impossible to describe all of the research undertaken by and at zoos and aquariums. Though there are areas of overlap, research can be divided into the following categories:
- research in pure and applied biological science (including small populationSmall population sizeSmall populations behave differently from larger populations. They often result in population bottlenecks, which have harmful consequences for the survival of that population.-Demographic effects:...
biology, animal welfareAnimal welfareAnimal welfare is the physical and psychological well-being of animals.The term animal welfare can also mean human concern for animal welfare or a position in a debate on animal ethics and animal rights...
, wildlife medicine, physiologyPhysiologyPhysiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
, nutritionNutritionNutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
, behaviour, reproductive biology, geneticsGeneticsGenetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
, evolutionEvolutionEvolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
, and taxonomyTaxonomyTaxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
); - in situ conservation research (e.g. field-based ecological and habitat research);
- research aimed at identifying and improving zoo and aquarium operations (for example research on visitor learning, the effectiveness of exhibits and programmes, marketing and messaging, membership, and development and fund-raising).
Recreation
Although recreationRecreation
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun"...
is today not the main aim of zoos anymore, it is clear that it plays still a very important role. People, especially from urbanized areas are often alienated from nature, have in a zoo the opportunity to relax and to enjoy a naturalistic environment in their very neighborhood. The profound positive influence nature – also in form of plants and companion animals – has on the psychic well-being of men, women and children in the very hectic, technical (and often virtual) world today has been demonstrated many times. Zoos make here no exception. They are places without the daily stress of the professional life, usually places of quiet and calmness with profound positive emotional experiences that allow people to immerge into another world – even in the middle of busy cities. This therefore is also one of the many reasons why zoos are visited today by young and old by the millions.
Of course zoos today know that this positive experience is only possible if the visitor has the impression that the animals are healthy and well kept in naturalistic habitat-like enclosures. Therefore when planning new exhibits today this is taken into consideration.
Care of animals
Within the twentieth century great strides had been made in the development of management methods and of principles and techniques relating to the maintenance of captive populations that increasingly satisfied the physical and psychological needs of the animals.Together with the increasing practical experiences in modern animal husbandry
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
, various developments in the science of veterinary medicine
Veterinary medicine
Veterinary Medicine is the branch of science that deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, disorder and injury in non-human animals...
(in particular prevention and control of parasites
Parasitism
Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host. Traditionally parasite referred to organisms with lifestages that needed more than one host . These are now called macroparasites...
and causes of disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
), enormous technical advances and of course the accumulation of knowledge of all kinds, it became possible to venture exhibits which before had not seemed possible.
Zoos today provide exhibits of such size, volume, structure and objects as to allow the animals to express their natural behaviours. Also the animals are provided areas to which they may retreat. In addition separate facilities are available to allow separation of animals where necessary, e.g. cubbing dens. Efforts are made to protected animals at all times from conditions detrimental to their well-being.
Proper feeding management of wild animals in zoos and aquariums incorporates both husbandry skills and applied nutritional sciences. As a basic foundation of animal management, nutrition is integral to longevity, disease prevention, growth and reproduction. Additionally food collecting and/or gathering contributes to behavioral enrichment and provides occupation. Quite elaborate systems of food presentation (dead rats) have been developed (e.g. in Switzerland for wild cats), where computer programmed various mechanic devices allow the animals in the enclosure to search for prey as in their natural environment. However in some cases animals in zoos need to be fed with other live animals, because they would not eat non-living food items. Whenever this has to be done however, the prey should have, as in natural conditions, a possibility to hide and it must be assured that the prey animal is killed as quickly as possible without pain and suffering. Whenever the animals accept dead prey or food items, they are not to be given live animals as food.
Indeed most contemporary zoos led by professionals are aware of environmental enrichment, also called behavioral enrichment, as a part of the daily care of animals. Environmental enrichment refers to the practice of providing animals with environmental stimuli
Stimulus (physiology)
In physiology, a stimulus is a detectable change in the internal or external environment. The ability of an organism or organ to respond to external stimuli is called sensitivity....
. The goal of environmental enrichment is to improve an animal's quality of life by increasing physical activity, stimulating natural behaviors, and preventing or reducing stereotypical behaviours.
Also the use of behavioral training, as another method of behavioral enrichment, has often contributed to the animals well-being as well as allowed zoos to improve dramatically their ability to care for animals, while reducing animal stress and increasing safety for both keeper and animal during care procedures. It is self evident that such training must be done by expert keepers in a way that is appropriate to the animals, based on biological and scientifically sound learning principles.
Management of animals
At the beginning of the twentieth century, zoos acquired many animals that were caught in the wild. Today however zoos acquire animals much more frequently through their ex-situ breeding programs, trade or exchange (or loans and gifts) among zoos (often following the advice of the appropriate Species Co-ordinators). Zoos make sure that institutions receiving their animals have appropriate facilities to hold them and skilled staff that are capable of maintaining the same high standard of husbandry and welfare as they themselves. However it is recognized that, from time to time, there is a legitimate need for conservation breeding programs, education programs or basic biological studies, to obtain animals from the wild. The collection, trade, and transport of wild animals is strictly regulated today by national and international legislation (in particular CITES, IATA and OIE) and is controlled by government agencies. In particular the CITES provisions make sure that such acquisitions will not have a deleterious effect upon the wild population. Various surveys have shown however that the acquisition of wild caught animals (in particular mammals, birds and reptiles) by zoos has decreased significantly in the last years and that zoos increasingly manage to maintain their collections without introduction of animals caught in the wild. Indeed many species are bred in zoos using sophisticated, and expensive, scientific procedures.The situation is somewhat different for aquaria, where – although an increasing number of fish and invertebrates can be bred in human care – still newly acquired animals are predominantly wild-caught. One of the reasons is that reproduction in aquaria just has not been possible yet or is – still – too expensive.
In fact the World Zoo Conservation Strategy published in 1993 states "that the commercial wild animal trade as a source of zoo animals should cease as soon as possible. Such animals as must be collected from the wild must be collected for specific educational and conservation purposes. They should not be chosen from dealers’ lists of animals randomly collected for commercial purposes." These goals, while more pertinent in 1993, are still valid and show up again in the World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strategy published in 2005. This of course means that zoos today disapprove of selling their “surplus” animals to animal dealers, auctions and game farms, unaccredited zoos and individuals without the necessary knowledge and expertise, respectively without the keeping-license required by national legislation.
All animals being transferred are usually accompanied today by appropriate records with details of health, diet, reproductive and genetic status and behavioural characteristics having been disclosed at the commencement of negotiations. These records will allow the receiving institution to make appropriate decisions regarding the future management of the animal. All animal transfers must conform to the international standards and laws applying to the particular species. Where appropriate or required by legislation, animals are accompanied by qualified staff.
Government agencies and animal welfare organizations also contact zoos whenever the need arises to place an animal confiscated because it has been illegally imported or acquired or has been rescued from unsuitable circumstances and which needs special and expert care and appropriate housing. Zoos usually are cooperative but they also may have to decline to take such animals in their custody when e.g. they do not have appropriate quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
facilities, have no appropriate enclosures, fear the risk of disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
when accepting an animal of unknown origin, don’t see any purpose in incorporating an animal of unknown origin into their breeding program or see no way how such an animal could be integrated socially into their group of conspecifics.
In keeping with the requirements of animal welfare standards, the adaptive capacity of wild animals in zoos must not be compromised, nor their functional capabilities allowed to atrophy. Furthermore animals in zoos must be kept in a manner that accommodates their natural behaviour. Reproductive behaviour is central to this consideration. Reproduction in all its aspects (courtship
Courtship
Courtship is the period in a couple's relationship which precedes their engagement and marriage, or establishment of an agreed relationship of a more enduring kind. In courtship, a couple get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement or other such agreement...
, pair bonding, nest building, parents-infant bonding, socialization of the young, integrating offspring into the group, influencing the social structure, transfer of knowledge, capabilities and traditions etc.) is indeed a significant part of the animal’s natural behaviour. Impeding reproduction may cause distress, social disorder, deprivation etc. Therefore, generally speaking, animals should not be prevented from breeding. However whilst this principle is valid for all animal species irrespective of their anthropocentric emotional value, it is not applicable to each and every individual. In the implementation of this principle, it may be necessary to humanely euthanize individual animals at times that approximate certain critical events they would encounter in the wild state (e.g. birth, weaning
Weaning
Weaning is the process of gradually introducing a mammal infant, either human or animal, to what will be its adult diet and withdrawing the supply of its mother's milk.The process takes place only in mammals, as only mammals produce milk...
, leaving the family group). In nature animals generally produce surplus offspring and not every individual is actually able to reproduce. In addition to the already mentioned critical phases in the life cycle of an animal, various other factors such as emigration
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
, immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
, disease, predation
Predation
In ecology, predation describes a biological interaction where a predator feeds on its prey . Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them, but the act of predation always results in the death of its prey and the eventual absorption of the prey's tissue through consumption...
, competition
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
, famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
and climate regulate population sizes. Reproductive management in zoos should reflect natural circumstances. In regulating the size of their animal stocks and populations zoos thus may pursue the following strategies:
- Relocate surplus to other suitable and appropriate facilities.
- Release to sanctuaries.
- Release into the wild within the framework of coordinated species recovery projects, respecting the IUCN guidelines and all legal requirements.
- Temporarily impede reproduction in a humane and ethical manner (group management, contraceptionContraceptionContraception is the prevention of the fusion of gametes during or after sexual activity. The term contraception is a contraction of contra, which means against, and the word conception, meaning fertilization...
, sterilization, artificial inseminationArtificial inseminationArtificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
etc.).
When contraception is considered, the possible side effects of both surgical and chemical contraception, as well as the negative impact on behavior and social structure of the group should be considered before the final decision to implement contraception is made.
When all options have been investigated and none of these measures are feasible without causing stress or impacting upon group behaviour and the decision is taken that it is necessary to euthanize an animal, care will be taken to ensure it is carried out in a fear free environment and a manner that ensures a quick death without suffering. Euthanasia may be controlled by local customs and laws but should always be used in preference to keeping an animal alive under conditions which do not allow it to experience an appropriate quality of life. Whenever possible a post-mortem examination should be performed and biological material preserved for research and gene conservation. If ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
and legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
allows it, there is nothing wrong with “recycling” remains of such animals into the zoo’s own food chain
Food chain
A food web depicts feeding connections in an ecological community. Ecologists can broadly lump all life forms into one of two categories called trophic levels: 1) the autotrophs, and 2) the heterotrophs...
.
Zoos usually avoid talking about death. In particular, they do not convey that sometimes it may be unavoidable to kill animals with a view of keeping a breeding programme alive and viable.
The largest problem for long-term conservation breeding at zoos will be the lack of understanding by the public that nature is based on surplus, i.e. that always more animals are born than are necessary for maintaining their own species, and that these surplus animals will end up in the food chain, thus ensuring the survival of other species.
Secretariat
A permanent Executive Office has been established in October 2001. The Office was located in the centre of BerneBerne
The city of Bern or Berne is the Bundesstadt of Switzerland, and, with a population of , the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 43 municipalities, has a population of 349,000. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
at this time. Since May 2010, the WAZA Executive Office is situated in the heart of IUCN’s newly-built Conservation Centre in Gland, Switzerland
Gland, Switzerland
Gland is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.-History:Gland is known to have been a prehistoric settlement. During the Roman period a farm called Villa Glanis was there...
. Under a MOU
Memorandum of understanding
A memorandum of understanding is a document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used in cases where parties either do not imply a legal commitment or in...
it provides also secretariat support to the International Zoo Educators Association
International Zoo Educators Association
The International Zoo Educators' Association is a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the education programmes in zoos and aquariums....
(IZEA).