Waza News 1-11

February 2011

1/11

Male Andean condor. | © Hernán Canuti

WAZA news 1/11

Gerald Dick

Contents Vision and Future of Zoos.......... 2 CBD CoP 10, Nagoya................. 5 The Time is Now, WED.............. 7 SAZARC Conference 2010..........8 Lesser White-fronted Goose....... 9 Sustainability to Implement.... 12 Book Reviews......................... 15 Announcements..................... 16 Update on Amphibian Ark Activities......... 19 Update International Studbooks.......... 20 Global Reach of Zoos & Aquariums................21 WAZA Projects Cardamom Mountains Wildlife Sanctuaries.................22 Melako Community Conservancy............................23 Pacarana Conservation Programme........ 24 Research & Conservation, Two Primates Endemic to Ethiopia............................. 25 Red Pandas in Captivity and in the Wild......... 26 Sichuan Forest Biodiversity......27 Mexican Wolf Recovery Programme............................ 28 Omo Forest Conservation........ 29 Andean Condor Conservation.............. 30 Recent Updates.......................31 New Member Applications....... 34 Obituary Mr. Amnart Cholwattana.......................... 36

Editorial Dear WAZA Members! I want to wish all WAZA members and associated friends all the best for a prosperous and happy New Year! After a very interesting year of changes, increased outreach and intensified cooperation within the conservation community, WAZA is looking forward to increasing membership and working on sustainable animal populations in 2011. A series of workshops are planned to address the situation of animals in our institutions, their future planning and management. Additionally, this year’s Annual Conference, to be held in Prague (2–6 October 2011), has the theme Partnering for sustainable zoos and aquariums. Sustainability of collections is in focus, as well as are the means of achieving it – such as studbooks, global species management plans, regional and interregional cooperation as these themes are widely seen as the most burning issues for our community. The future of zoos and aquariums is at stake and therefore as Jeffrey Bonner says: ”We need to constantly, voluntarily work together. There is altogether too much bickering and in‑fighting among the organizations that make up our community – between the family of zoos and the family of aquariums, among the regional associations, between our community and the academic community. It simply must stop.”

Imprint

Founding Member

Editor: Gerald Dick, WAZA Executive Office IUCN Conservation Centre Rue Mauverney 28 CH-1196 Gland Switzerland phone: +41 22 999 07 90 fax: +41 22 999 07 91 Layout and typesetting:

michal@sky.cz

After the 2010 Year of Biodiversity and the successful CoP 10 which was held in Nagoya, Japan, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the period from 2011 to 2020 as the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity in its Resolution 65/161. This global focus for the decade, which just started, provides a perfect framework for the zoo and aquarium community in order to contribute in terms of communication, education and conservation. I am looking forward to another intensive and successful year! Gerald Dick WAZA Executive Director

Edition: 550 copies © WAZA 2011

This edition of WAZA News is also available on www.waza.org (members’ area). WAZA is a registered interest representative with the European Commission, ID number 30556573017-18.

Print:

Agentura NP, Staré Město, Czech Republic

ISSN: 1662-7733

Printed on FSC paper.

WAZA news 1/11

Mark Penning

The President’s Page

It is a pleasure for me to wish all members of WAZA a happy, healthy and productive 2011. With the inclement weather bringing many centres in the Northern hemisphere to a standstill, and extensive flooding wreaking havoc in parts of Australia, the year has certainly got off to an inauspicious start. It is our hope that those institutions affected will make a speedy recovery and enjoy a successful 2011. It is now widely accepted that human activities are contributing to global climate change and environmental degradation, which of course has a detrimental effect on animal populations and their habitats. To halt and reverse this trend, we as zoos and aquariums seek to encourage large numbers of people to make small changes to their respective lifestyles by adopting more environmentally sustainable practices in their home, work and leisure activities. The sum of these small changes will be significant, both in direct physical terms and in the development of new societal paradigms and attitudes which will shape the development of mankind in the years ahead.

We know that a visit to a zoo or aquarium provides an opportunity for people to connect with nature and to learn about conservation issues, both in developed and in developing countries. In our zoo and aquarium community, we know that our institutions host around 700 million visitors each year, a clear reflection of the potential we have to bring about meaningful change in human society. Education has been prominent on our agenda for decades already, but we now understand that we also need to empower our visitors to make those lifestyle changes. The last couple of years have seen a concerted effort to better quantify the impact that we have on our visitors, and a number of further studies are being conducted. Professor Roy Ballantyne from Queensland University has approached us with a project to develop a strategy that can be used by aquariums in particular to reach large numbers of the general public with an environmental message that is designed to achieve real and long‑lasting changes in people’s behaviour. The proposed project will develop and test the effectiveness

of post‑visit action resources in the context of an aquarium visit. These include the provision of learning materials which reinforce on‑site conservation messages and motivate visitors to translate their intentions into real actions. Recent research by Prof. Ballantyne into zoo and aquarium visitors’ attitudes toward conservation education has shown that out of 841 aquarium visitors surveyed, 75% believed that the aquarium’s role in providing information about conservation and environmental issues was at least as, if not more important than being a place where you can go for a fun experience. The majority of visitors felt it was very important for aquariums to encourage visitors to reflect on, and take action in relation to conservation and environmental issues. Just over half of all visitors felt it was very important for aquariums to provide post‑visit materials to encourage people to continue learning about environmental issues after their visit. It is believed that this project will enable participating aquariums to accurately assess their mission performance outcomes, and the extent to which these can be enhanced through the use of post‑visit action resources. What’s more, such involvement means a greater degree of interaction with visitors and greater visitor satisfaction, together with an increased level of trust in the aquarium and belief in the aquarium’s mission. This, of course, is likely to lead to higher levels of visitation and word‑of‑mouth endorsements. Aquarium directors interested in participating in the project are welcome to contact me or the Executive Office for more information.

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Jeffrey P. Bonner, Chair – AZA Board of Directors

“Vision and Future of Zoos”* The vision for our future is clear. Within the span of a generation, we must become field conservation organizations. All of our actions, from fence to field, must all be oriented toward a single, common, shared goal – that of preserving wildlife – whether we do that through research, conservation education, or, most importantly, through field conservation initiatives. Wild things are safe in zoos and aquariums, but they are not saved in zoos and aquariums. And so our education programs, our research programs, our conservation breeding programs, what we communicate to our audience, how we engage them as advocates – all of these things must be dedicated to a singular purpose. We must become the world’s most powerful force for advocating and ensuring the future of wild things so that they can live their lives, relatively unmolested, and relatively free from the depredations of humanity. This is what we must do. (And for this to occur, we must adopt and share a common vision for the future.)

Why do I think we can accomplish this?

What are the problems that we can foresee?

First, we have money. The combined annual budgets of AZA‑accredited institutions alone exceeds $1.5 billion per year. If we dedicated a mere 10% of our budgets to field conservation, we would be very close to what the World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International together spend on field conservation. Add the budgets of the EAZA, ARAZPA and the many other regional associations to that sum, and we would exceed the budgets of the WWF and CI.

Let’s be honest about the hard issues we face. Only by doing so can our performance come close to equaling our promise. Here are some of our major issues:

Second, we have the talent and expertise. Virtually all that we know about wildlife diseases was discovered in zoos. Much of what we know about the genetics of small populations was discovered in zoos. Endocrine studies, psychological and behavioral studies, nutrition studies – the list is almost endless – all can be undertaken in zoological institutions. We’ve developed this talent and expertise because we have the world’s largest repository of living animals – over 10,000 different species world‑wide. Third, and most important of all, these living things allow us to reach visitors – some 175 million in North America and 140 million in EAZA and perhaps 700 million world‑wide! In fact, the WAZA network claims some 1,300 member institutions (if you count the member institutions of regional associations). If we all spoke with the same messages to these visitors, we could mobilize and energize an engaged audience to understand our vision.

Part of a keynote given at EAZA Annual Conference in Ancona, 2010.

We need agreement on what constitutes a species. The continued bickering among geneticists and, as a consequence, between geneticists and animal managers, must be addressed in such a way that genetics becomes a useful tool and not a confusing impediment.

Our collections are not sustainable. Lees and Wilcken, taking a global sample of species that ARAZPA was considering bringing into their collections, found some alarming news. Among the 87 species selected, only 48% are breeding to replacement and only 55% have appropriate levels of genetic diversity. Why has this happened?

…Remember, we are all one community. We need to constantly, voluntarily work together…

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• Lack of exhibit and breeding space. • A need for advanced husbandry expertise to breed some species in zoos and aquariums. • Overloaded planning capacity. • Unnecessary complexity in population management administration. • Inadequate institutional awareness surrounding the topic of sustainability. • A need for stronger institutional commitment to be an active part of the solution. • Difficulty in obtaining permits and moving animals. • Dwindling staff expertise. We simply are not doing a good enough job of training the next generation of animal managers. • Finally, we tend to treat all taxa the same and make them all play by the same rules (even though turtles are not the same as great apes). What does this mean? It means we must create an international Sustainability Task Force, composed of WAZA, the regional associations, and key individual organizations like national parks, private reserves, and, of course, zoological institutions. This task force must be charged with developing a plan to address this problem, but we all must cooperate in order to solve the issue of collections sustainability. And collections sustainability is crucial to our collective future.

To find out more: www.aza.org

We need to develop a clear consensus of our field conservation priorities.

• Potential for capacity building – it’s important that we impart conservation skills to the people in range countries they will need to continue If WWF and CI can establish conservathe conservation efforts begun by tion priorities, why can’t we? It seems our efforts. obvious that combining resources • Extent of local support – local to achieve prioritized objectives people have to want the conservamakes more sense than each zoo and tion efforts to be successful. aquarium going it alone. We need • Measurable outcome – we have to only address a handful of criteria to be able to prove that we have been come up with a prioritization scheme. successful. I intend to make this a According to CBSG (the Conservasignificant focus of my time as Chair tion Breeding Specialist Group of of the AZA Board. Conservation is, the IUCN), we should look at eleven should be – must be – our ultimate different things in order to prioritize goal, but we have a long way to our field efforts: go before we can fully realize our potential. • Relevance of conservation breeding to the success of the field effort – in Let’s face the facts on amphibians other words, are our collections for example. We said that they are a helpful to our conservation efforts? priority taxa and we had a golden op• Applicability of our existing or portunity to convince the IUCN, the potential skill sets – or are the skills academic community, indeed, the we possess the right skills? If not, world, of our worth as conservation we may need new ones. organizations. The need was, and still • Pre‑existing collaborative frameis, clear. But we have been far less works – or are there already institusuccessful in bringing a significant tions collaborating to meet the number of amphibian species into conservation need. intensively managed programs as • Probability of success – we might we’d first hoped. assign a higher priority to conservation efforts that one knows will be Now I do not want to detract from successful (risk?). the work that we’ve done so far. • Fundability. However, if we want to be true con• Conservation relevance – or is the servation organizations, rhetoric has conservation effort really important? to get much closer to reality. We must • Conservation impact – we have to become a highly‑effective, integrated ask how much will the effort really conservation network, and we still change things? have a chance to do that with the am• Public appeal. phibians of the world. But we must first start with the basics. Right now we can’t even measure our annual expenditures on conservation.

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» We need to focus our messages and our brand. Start with the fact that we speak Latin (in situ and ex situ) and that we do field conservation – but almost no one seems to know about it. This is why we need regional associations (like EAZA) and global associations (like WAZA) to organize us and help us develop and disseminate powerful messages. If we all say the same thing as part of our on‑going communications, people stand a much better chance of understanding who we are and what we do. More importantly, perhaps we can move the people of our planet toward holistic solutions to global problems.

We need to effectively respond to animal rights organizations – organizations that are completely indifferent to the fate of wild animals yet are vehemently opposed to the existence of zoos and aquariums.

We have the potential to use our vast membership as a force for political change. Our members love us. AZA recently conducted a study among North American zoos and aquarium members. It shows that our members would be very willing to take action on our behalf. We need to be willing to ask for their help and involvement.

Our education and interpretive programs still attempt to impart information, yet we devote comparatively little attention to how we can best stir the emotions of our enormous constituency. We are very good at getting information (facts) to our visiting public. We assume that this approach alone will stir their passion for conservation, just as it has stirred our own. Yet our institutions can also engender dismay and concern, or anger and rage, or awe and wonder, or reverence and joy. When we do this, when we grab people’s emotions, they will not only want to learn more, they will want to do more.

In the United States these organizations have huge lobbying contingents. They are placing brilliantly written curriculum in our schools. They are recruiting high‑profile public figures to parrot distortions, mischaracteriWe must better leverage our zations, and sometimes, out‑right lies. fund‑raising capabilities by And while we occupy the high ground, joining forces. we must be vigilant and agree upon strategic messaging and tactics to The botanical garden community address this threat. has done an excellent job of getting funding for the computerization of databases on plants, for example, while we go at key efforts on an institution‑by‑institution basis. Using EDGE scores, for example, is an excellent way to help us use a database to help set informed priorities on which species we are most likely to lose. Yet using this approach was not undertaken by the entire community of zoological institutions and thus lost much of its funding appeal.

We must develop the basic tools necessary to do our jobs. We need an integrated, collaborative approach that capitalizes on the strengths of individual institutions, regional associations, and global associations. For example, we have tools like ZIMS (the computer program developed by International Species Information System) to track genetics and pool our information regarding every dimension of health care. A similar database program developed around sustainability and field conservation efforts would be ideal.

What is the best solution toward change? People within our community misinterpret the changing scope of individual institutions, versus regional associations, versus our global association as somehow being hierarchical with ever‑increasing degrees of authority vested at each level. That is simply not the case. Remember, we are all one community. We need to constantly, voluntarily work together. There is altogether too much bickering and in‑fighting among the organizations that make up our community – between the family of zoos and the family of aquariums, among the regional associations, between our community and the academic community. It simply must stop. And when it does, that is when we’ll be able to best address the issues – issues that are more important than any one institution or association. That is when we’ll be able to achieve the clear vision for our future.

WAZA news 1/11

Gerald Dick – WAZA Executive Office

CBD CoP 10 Achievements and the Zoo/Aquarium Community WAZA and JAZA as visible conservation partners The tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD CoP 10) took place in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, from 18 to 29 October, 2010. After the ambitiously set target to “achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth” it not only became clear that this target was not met, but the expectations were high on how the global community would react. In a monster conference, where in total about 18,000 participants took part, it was hoped that clear decisions were made on how to stop biodiversity loss, on how access and benefit sharing (ABS) can be agreed on and how those endeavours can be financed.

The adoption of the Nagoya “package” consisting of the ABS Protocol, the Strategic Plan 2011-2020 and the Resource Mobilisation Strategy constitutes a success not only for the CBD but also for environmental multilateralism. For the implementation of CBD measures the host country, Japan, put 2 billion $ on the table. The strategic plan will also serve as a guiding instrument for other conventions, such as CITES, Ramsar, CMS, World Heritage and organisations like IUCN, BirdLife, WWF and CI. The strategic plan is meant to serve as an overarching framework to coordinate all activities under the CBD as well as guiding major biodiversity related endeavours globally. The paper is called “Living in harmony with nature” following a proposal of the very supportive and pushing host country. It consists of a vision for 2050 and a mission, starting with “effective

NGO meeting with CBD Executive Secretary Ahmed Djoghlaf, Nagoya, 24 Oct 2010. © WAZA

and urgent action to halt the loss of biodiversity in order to ensure that by 2020 ecosystems are resilient and continue to provide essential services, thereby securing the planet’s variety of life, and contributing to human well‑being, and poverty eradication”. The 20 concrete targets are organised in five strategic goals. Those are about the underlying causes of biodiversity loss, the reduction of direct pressures and sustainable use, ecosystems, species and genetic diversity, the ecosystem services and participatory planning, knowledge management and capacity building. Apart from the targets mentioning invasive alien species or coral reefs, target 12 on species is the most relevant one for our community, it reads: “By 2020 the extinction of known threatened species has been prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been improved and sustained.”

WAZA news 1/11

Nagoya Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens.

WAZA activities With the great support of JAZA, it was possible to jointly organize numerous activities during the conference. Besides two poster demonstrations on biodiversity activities of WAZA and its members, JAZA organized a display tent in the fair area of the conference. Information about zoos and aquariums and educational material was disseminated and hundreds of kids visited the tent and did small handicrafts under the supervision of zoo staff. At two occasions it was possible to present the WAZA Aquarium strategy for conservation and sustainability, also in its Japanese version. On the one hand, a press conference was held with Shigeyuki Yamamoto, JAZA chair, Mark Penning, WAZA president and Gerald Dick, WAZA executive director, on the other hand a side event was especially dedicated to the details of the strategy and its significance for Japan. At this event additionally three concrete examples of conservation work in Japan were introduced: freshwater fishes, amphibians and Japanese crested ibis and Oriental white stork. The presentations can be seen and downloaded from the WAZA website (conservation). The events were very well attended and the contribution of the world zoo and aquarium community to biodiversity conservation in the UN Year of Biodiversity was made perfectly visible.

In early January the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the period from 2011 to 2020 as the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity in its Resolution 65/161, which reads as follows: “Decides, following the invitation of the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, to declare 2011–2020 the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity, with a view to contributing to the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity for the period 2011–2020, requests the Secretary‑General, in this regard, in consultation with Member States, to lead the coordination of the activities of the Decade on behalf of the United Nations system, with the support of the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the secretariats of other biodiversity‑related conventions and relevant United Nations funds, programmes and agencies, and invites Member States in a position to do so to contribute, on a voluntary basis, to the funding of the activities of the Decade”; the Decade coincides with and supports the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 adopted by the Conference of the Parties and provides a perfect framework for communication and focus for WAZA as well.

To find out more: www.cbd.int

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Lisa Rolls Hagelberg – UNEP

The Time Is Now! Help make WED a movement not just a day!

As new year’s resolutions drift ever further away, perhaps it is time to reignite our commitments to causes greater than ourselves and to consider our impact and influence on the world at large. As we know, the environment is once such cause and with just 5 months left to World Environment Day (WED) the time to pledge support is now. 2011 will be a very exciting year for WED for many reasons. Last year saw exponential growth in partners, registered activities and members. And due to a groundswell of enthusiasm from the WED global community to engage in activities and information ‑sharing over the course of the year, WED is now being transformed from an event to a movement! 5 June will always mark the culmination of the people’s day for public awareness and positive action, but the upcoming launch of a new content‑driven, interactive website will allow members to learn, share and celebrate their environmental commitments throughout the year. The UN General Assembly has also proclaimed 2011 as the International Year of Forests (IYF) and has invited Governments, the United Nations system, NGOs, the private sector and other forest‐related stakeholders to raise awareness to strengthen the sustainable management, conservation and development of all types of forests for the benefit of current and future generations. Working in close collaboration with UNEP’s Division of Environmental Policy Implementation (DEPI), WED efforts will focus on bringing these issues to the public and highlighting key strategies for conservation. This collaboration, especially with the help of key partners

like WAZA, provides a unique opportunity to inform the public about the critical role forests play in building a greener, more equitable and sustainable future. To this end, WED website messaging will highlight the overarching forests theme, and activities will support a host of programs like UNEP’s visionary UN‑REDD and the launch of a long‑term forest strategy. UNEP’s flagship Sasakawa Prize, awarded each year to a grass‑roots organization judged to have made an outstanding contribution to the protection & management of the environment and social development, also carries the theme Forests for People. Forests for GreenGrowth. The $ 200,000 prize will be given in February at UNEP headquarters. Creative outreach will include engagement with UNEP Goodwill Ambassadors, Gisele Bundchen, Don Cheadle and Yann Arthus‑Bertrand. Mr. Bertrand, who in 2009 premiered his film, HOME, to a global audience on WED, is celebrating forests with a book and short film. Last, but not least, we are pleased to announce that India has been chosen as the 2011 host country. India’s large population, free and vibrant media, and New Delhi’s commitment to forest conservation all contributed to the decision. The country has contributed two billion trees to UNEP’s Billion Tree Campaign and has plans to increase green cover by 20 million hectares by 2020. Two very creative initiatives by New Delhi are the “green court” which will hold polluters accountable for damages and taxation on coal to fund renewable energy projects.

Perhaps most significant is that since tens of millions of Indians still use rudimentary cookstoves, the WED celebrations will provide an opportunity to conduct an educational campaign on black carbon.* This year’s WED Legacy (contributions to host country based on activity registration) will donate energy‑efficient cook stoves to help the cause. The public announcement of the host country selection and specific WED theme will coincide with the launch of the new site by the end of January. But don’t wait until then to start making plans. The WED team is standing by to help WAZA members create programmes that work for their zoos and aquariums. In the last newsletter it was said: “Imagine if everyday was a celebration of our world… Together, we can make WED, and the lifestyle choices it celebrates, a movement not just a day.” Well, the time is now…

To find out more: www.unep.org/wed

Black Carbon has recently emerged as a major contributor to global climate change, possibly second only to CO2 as the main driver of change.1. BC is produced both naturally and by human activities as a result of the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuels, and biomass. Primary sources include emissions from diesel engines, cook stoves, wood burning and forest fires.

WAZA news 1/11

Sally Walker – SAZARC

South Asian Zoo Association for Regional Cooperation SAZARC conference training tackles 21st century crises SAZARC celebrated its Tenth Anniversary in 2010. Every SAZARC conference the primary feature has been to conduct training for participants on a useful and current theme. A unique theme was decided very early on, e.g., to combine 21st Century Crises and the measures to be taken by zoos to handle them. The major crises for attention were climate change with emphasis on species susceptibility; emerging diseases linked with climate change, early recognition and preparedness and terrorism, both political and personal, the latter being the impetus to commit suicide in the zoo, or take extreme risks to get a closer look at the tiger. At the training we tied these crises into a much‑needed action for South Asian zoos, the generation of a crisis management plan for each country. Zoo Outreach Organisation had promoted such plans aggressively in ZOO’s publications, but no zoo followed through. Last year, however, Central Zoo Authority of India required all Indian zoos to include an emergency response plan in their mandatory master plans and CZA commissioned a manual which was published a few months before the conference. CZA was kind to donate copies for SAZARC training. The

Participants of the 2010 SAZARC conference, Nepal. © SAZARC

21st Century crises had not been addressed in the manual but were discussed at the training. The conference/training was held in Nepal where SAZARC was founded at the Central Zoo, Lalitpur, Kathmandu. The inaugural for this conference was conducted at the zoo, but immediately afterwards, participants jumped in vehicles headed for Chitwan National Park. The entire training and conference took place at the HQ of National Trust for Nature Conservation, NTNC, which administers Central Zoo. The combination of presentations by resource persons in the mornings followed by working‑groups discussing and incorporation of new knowledge into their assigned tasks, only one of which was the draft emergency response plan, worked well. The currency, connectedness and depth of the topics; the need for crisis protocols by all zoos; and the expertise of Resource Persons was much appreciated. Resource persons had been very carefully selected. For climate change we invited Dr. Wendy Foden, climate change expert for the IUCN Species Programme, Cambridge, way in advance. Dr. Mark Irwin, Animal Management Program Director for

Jefferson Community College, State University of New York, more than did justice to emerging diseases while linking related subjects for practical application by zookeepers, zoo veterinarians and managers. Our emergency protocols resource persons could not attend at the last hour but the CZA manual was sufficient. We particularly wanted to highlight the issue of species susceptibility to climate change because zoo managers may find themselves in future with unwell animals without realizing the impact of higher temperatures. Dr. Foden laid the groundwork with an overview of climate change. She emphasized that it is not “just the polar bear” but a great number of species in different parts of the world that are distressed and declining due to climate change. She reviewed the most recent work of IUCN researching which species are most vulnerable, and informing participants that they were the first to receive this unpublished information. She prepared participants to utilize a framework involving a simple means of thinking about the impact of climate change on species. Trouble for species begins if it is exposed to climate change, is very sensitive to it and cannot adapt. She related several points associated

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Leif Blomqvist & Christer Larsson – Nordens Ark

with sensitivity, adaptability and exposure, explaining how to use them to evaluate species susceptibility. Afterwards, participants in country working groups used the method to assess lists of species for suitability for their zoos. Linking climate change and zoo management was our objective. Also, zoo personnel understood climate change better, having worked with the principles and being empowered to make decisions as a result. Mark Irwin began his lectures associating emerging diseases and zoo preparedness, including prevention and response. He followed with types of pathogens and their transmission, bio‑security with key points to prevent the introduction and spread of disease. He included components of zookeeper training in preparation for emerging diseases, emphasizing the importance of this level of staff. Last day he discussed implementation and practice. His presentations covered much ground. Participants worked country‑wise on varied topics including an emergency response protocol using the CZA manual to get oriented, make a start in selected topics, then add the 21st century crisis component. Systematic planning for future emergencies seems not to exist in South Asian culture. Participants and others before the workshop were queried at random and none could recall even a fire drill from grade school. The training component took up most of our five days but host and organizer, Sarita Jnwali, SAZARC president and director, Central zoo arranged tours into Chitwan National Park and other visits early mornings or evenings training. There were few complaints! The 50-odd Participants were from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Lesser White‑fronted Goose A species in focus in the nordic countries

While the lesser white‑fronted goose, Anser erythropus was formerly a characteristic species for the Fennoscandian tundra, it has undergone severe historical decline in all Nordic countries. In early 1900, the Fennoscandian population exceeded 10.000 birds but declined to not more than 500 birds in the early 1980s. It is most unlikely that the species breeds in Finland; in Sweden the last observed reproduction in the original population took place in 1996, while the Norwegian population scarcely exceeds 30 pairs., in a limited area in the Finnmark area. The decline for this small goose therefore lacks equivalence to any other bird species in northern Europe. The species is globally listed as Vulnerable (VU), it is included in Annex I of the Birds Directive Of the European Union and listed as Critically Endangered (CR) in all three Nordic countries.

…Lesser whitefronted geese have never been regarded as a difficult species to breed at Nordens Ark, where parentreared goslings have been hatched each year…

Ex situ breeding started 40 years ago To save the lesser whitefronted Goose (LWfG) from extinction, a restocking project was launched in the 1970s by the Swedish Hunter’s Association and financially supported by WWF Sweden. The promoter of the project, Lambart von Essen, decided to reverse the decline by establishing a breeding population in captivity, the offspring of which would be released into former breeding locations in Swedish Lapland. As it was well documented that one of the main factors of the decline had been hunting pressure along the migration routes in SE Europe and SW Asia, “Project Fjällgås” decided to use barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) as foster parents for the released LWfG. Barnacle geese overwinter in the Netherlands; as geese learn their migration routes from their parents, and goslings are imprinted on the area in which they learn to fly, the released goslings were expected to spend their winters in safe wintering grounds in central Europe instead of migrating to perilous areas in Ukraine, Iran and Kazakhstan.

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Current Swedish population originates from reintroduced birds

Genetic analysis reveals hybridisation

In the late 1990s, blood samples In 1980, the breeding project prowere tested from 15 LWfG kept on duced its first goslings, and restockthe Finnish breeding farm. Four of ing attempts began the following the samples, taken from geese from year. In 1981–1999, an average of Öster‑Malma, contained DNA from 15–30 birds were released annuWhite‑fronted goose, Anser albifrons. ally with Barnacle geese as foster Gene tests were consequently carried parents. A total of 348 geese were out on all captive LWfG in Sweden. thus released in the species’ former DNA analyses showed that more than breeding grounds in the Arjeplog area 30% of all geese in Sweden contained in Swedish Lapland. The survival rate fragments of mitochondrial DNA and of the goslings reared by Barnacle microsatellites from Anser albifrons. parents was remarkably high with As no cross‑breeding had occurred 57% observed in their winter quarters in the breeding program, hybridisain the Netherlands. This restocking tion must have occurred at an earlier project must therefore be regarded stage before the birds were imported as successful, and resulted in a small to Sweden. All contaminated geese population approaching 100 birds in in the two main breeding facilities Sweden. in Öster‑Malma and Nordens Ark were therefore phased out from the breeding program collections and all further reintroductions were stopped. Restocking The Scientific Council of CMS was attempts in Finland also consulted to give advice on Similar actions were also taken in Fin- further actions. The Council recommended that all reintroduced birds land, where a breeding project supbe captured or removed, a decision ported by WWF Finland and the Minwhich created considerable conflict istry of Environment was established in 1985. The original founders arrived between people in favour of eradicafrom the Swedish breeding facility tion and those who wanted to preÖster‑Malma and a private breeder in serve the only expanding population Sweden. Restocking attempts started in Europe. After consultations with in 1989, and 151 sub‑adult geese were “Projekt Fjällgås”, it was decided to released in 1989–2004, but unlike the re‑start the reintroductions but now Swedish attempt, the Finnish project with pure LWfG of known origin. released young geese without foster parents. Results were poor, and as no wild breeding took place the reintroductions were stopped.

New start from scratch In the meantime “Projekt Fjällgås” had contacted Russian colleagues to inquire about possibilities of importing new founders from the Russian tundra. In a joint effort with Moscow Zoo and the Russian Goose, Swan & Duck Group of North Eurasia, young LWfG were caught in the Nenets Autonomous Region, northwest of the Ural mountains where the nearest viable population exists. Russian ornithologists were instructed not to collect more than two goslings from each clutch, thus avoiding jeopardizing the local populations. In 2006–2009, 36 wild‑caught geese arrived at Nordens Ark in five different transports. All birds survived and settled down without difficulties. Funding from SEPA has made it possible to build a new breeding facility at Nordens Ark. This facility, which was opened in 2009, is planned to house 15 breeding pairs as well as unpaired and sub‑adult birds. During the winter, the geese are kept in a frost‑free house with pools and access to outdoor pens. To prevent injuries from raptors, all outdoor facilities have been covered with netting, while electric wires protect the geese from mammalian carnivores. All birds are marked with visible leg bands and micro‑chips for identification. During the day, the geese are kept in large outdoor paddocks allowing them to graze and to establish pairs. When the breeding season starts, the pairs are separated for nesting without disturbance from counterparts.

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First “Russian” goslings hatched in 2008 LWfG have never been regarded as a difficult species to breed at Nordens Ark, where parent‑reared goslings have been hatched each year. In 1993–2010, 114 goslings have thus been reared by parents of the earlier stock. As all goslings have been either parent‑reared or reared by foster parents, the survival rate of the chicks has been 75%. The Russian geese started to breed in 2008, when the first clutch of 2♂,1♀ goslings hatched. and were reared by the parents. The same pair bred again in 2009, when 2♂,2♀ goslings were born. Six abandoned eggs were also found among the non‑paired Russian geese. Whether these eggs had been laid by one or several females was therefore unknown. Three of the eggs were successfully incubated and hatched by foster‑parents from the earlier stock. At the age of three months, these goslings were separated from their foster‑parents and introduced to the Russian breeding pair with four offspring of their own.

In 2010, three clutches were hatched with 13 parent‑reared goslings, all of which survived. Twenty‑two (10♂,8♀ and 4 unknown) surviving geese have so far been hatched amongst the Russian founders.

Restocking attempts re‑started in 2010 In 2010, the restocking program started again after a decade of interruption. Releases took place in two locations, one in Sweden and one in Norway. In July, 16 geese from the wild population in Sweden were caught at a moulting area on the coast of the Bothnian Bay. Blood samples were taken from all these birds which also were measured, sexed and weighted. Before their release, the geese were marked with coloured leg bands in order to make it possible to identify them from a distance. Two of the wild‑caught birds were transported to the nesting area in Arjeplog and released there together with five goslings hatched at Nordens Ark in 2009-2010 under the new Russian founders.

The second release took place in Porsanger fjord in Norway where a hacking enclosure had been built in co‑operation with staff from the Ornithological Society of Norway and the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management. The Porsanger area is known to be the core area where the remaining wild Norwegian population rests after nesting and moulting. One of the breeding pairs from Russia, with its four goslings, was transferred to the hacking enclosure where they were kept for one month waiting for the wild geese to arrive. The goslings were marked with neck rings and two of them were also provided with satellite transmitters. When the four goslings had been released, the parents were brought back to the breeding centre at Nordens Ark for future breeding. After release, the goslings quickly joined their wild counterparts and were daily observed grazing and flying around in the fjord area.

Future directions The recently established ex situ population of pure LWfG contains of 27♂,19♀ birds located in a single facility. Such a small population is extremely vulnerable to stochastic events which in the worst scenario could lead to its collapse. To secure the survival of the valuable new founders, a second backup population will be established at Öster ‑Malma. This subdivision will hopefully protect the current stock against possible epidemics or disasters that could annihilate the only existing unit. The final goal will be to strengthen the small fragments of LWfG still living in northern Scandinavia and improve the diversity of the wild stock which has undergone a severe bottle‑neck. The restocking attempts in Sweden also aim to dilute possible genes from A. albifrons which might still exist in the previously reintroduced population.

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Justine de Herder & Christin Streiter – University Van Hall Larenstein

Sustainability to Implement A research about sustainable, beneficial and reasonable facilities for zoos and aquariums Facing the threat of climate change and biodiversity loss, sustainability has become an essential public issue. Zoos as environmental organisations and leaders in conservation have a sustainable responsibility and could contribute to stem climate change and the exploitation of resources by reducing their environmental impact. Consequently, the implementation and integration of sustainable facilities and operations are crucial. Particularly for zoos with lower visitation figures and non profit profiles the presumed barrier of integrating sustainability to a greater extent are the lack of financial and human resources as well as the lack of information. Therefore, this research investigated sustainable, beneficial and reasonable facilities and operations for zoos in terms of small‑scale and large‑scale implementations. Hence, a literature review and interviews were conducted as well as Multi Criteria Analyses which were filled in by five WAZA member zoos. The collected data revealed small‑scale facilities which cost less, are profitable and have a positive environmental impact. Comparatively, representatives of large‑scale projects are shown by this research which require higher initial costs, but eventually show higher energy efficiency and a higher long‑term profit.

Guidelines for zoos Providing guidelines for zoos in terms of sustainable, beneficial, and feasible facilities and operations different criteria have been considered within this research to eventually investigate reasonable options for zoos in terms of sustainable development. • Expenses/costs • Environmental impact • Profitability • Complexity/Technical realization • Subsidy/Sponsoring With the help of a literature review, interviews and Multi Criteria Analyses which were filled in by five WAZA member zoos, it was possible to obtain data which allowed the establishment of sustainable and beneficial devices and operations in terms of small‑ and large‑scale projects. WAZA member zoos which took part in the MCA: • Allwetterzoo Münster | Germany • Bristol Zoo Gardens | United Kingdom • Dierenpark Emmen | The Netherlands • Zoo Granby | Canada • Zoo Landau | Germany WAZA member zoos which were interviewed: • Allwetterzoo Münster | Germany • Burgers Zoo Arnhem | The Netherlands

Beneficial small‑scale projects The following sustainable facilities and operations are segmented into five sections and are all characterized by: • Low cost/expenses • Less complexity to install/implement • Positive environmental impact /saving potential • Profitability to a certain level • Possible sponsoring/subsidy (depending on country and region) These characteristics make the following sustainable components perfect for zoos which are aiming to reduce their ecological footprint, but are limited by a low or medium budget which does not allow the implementation of large facilities, such as wind turbines or biogas facilities. Within the Energy & Building sector solar panels, time control switches, green energy supplier, occupancy sensors as well as the insulation of buildings are revealed to be beneficial and sustainable devices for zoos and aquariums in terms of small‑scale projects. Regarding the waste sector yielding the manure of zoo animals to local farmers and recycling materials are the most reasonable actions in terms of sustainable waste management. Concentrating on the water management insulating water pipes, installing waterless urinals and rainwater harvesting systems as well as repairing leakages in the water conduit shows the most sustainable and beneficial options. Furthermore, installing bicycle stands or parking areas for bikes is a sustainable and inexpensive opportunity for zoos and aquariums regarding transport strategy. Within this research it is investigated that procuring local products is a beneficial option for zoos and aquariums.

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Beneficial large‑scale projects So, why are features such as wind turbines or wave power systems not highly ranked or implemented by many zoos, even though they are supposed to be the most efficient regarding environmental sustainability? This can be explained by the high initial costs, and regarding wind or wave power the effort of implementation, which outweigh the high environmental impact for the five surveyed zoos which on average are medium sized and have a medium visitation figure. For these zoos these installations are considered too expensive. Wind turbines, for instance, require high upfront costs and high operational expenses which most medium sized zoos cannot always afford. But zoos having the financial opportunity could consider investing in this

facility due to its enormous energy efficiency and maybe even use the implementation as a publicity event. The same applies for wave power systems which are very expensive and complex to install. This system is known as the most efficient usage of renewable energy resources currently available. So, if a zoo can invest and has access to a river or sea, it is highly recommendable to invest in a small scale wave power system due to its high energy efficiency and high environmental impact. Moreover, installing a biogas plant could be the perfect facility for a zoo which produces tons of dung each year. These can supply parts of the zoo with energy. Additionally, a geothermal heat pump is a very energy efficient facility with a relatively short payback period and a long life expectancy. Moreover, a water filtration system could be a good investment as it can lead to an

enormous reduction in potable water consumption by reuse and recycling. All of these facilities are characterized by high energy efficiency, lower costs as well as a high awareness factor and symbolic characteristic. It is particularly important for zoos to implement these facilities for contribution to sustainability. Thus, for zoos with higher budgets it is recommended to invest in these applications. It is worthwhile both in terms of high environmental impact and long‑term profitability. At the same time, there are numerous zoos all over the world which have already implemented wind‑or wave‑power systems, or biogas systems.

…there are many possibilities for every type and size of zoo to implement sustainability on a small‑ and large‑scale to lower the environmental impact…

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Examples

The following zoos have already implemented sustainable facilities in terms of small‑ and large‑scale projects. The Toronto Zoo in Canada installed a 3 to 5 megawatt biogas plant. The implementation cost was about 13 million dollars, but in turn it reduces the gas bill by 1.3 million dollar each year. The zoo produces 1000 tonnes of dung each year, and the generated energy is enough to power 5000 homes. The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, USA, presents the new Windspire® wind turbine which is 30 feet tall and generates the energy to power the ticketing and membership building. Combined with solar panels, the wind turbine will meet a quarter of all of the power demands for the building. The turbine generates approximately 2000 kilowatt hours per year. The Melbourne Zoo in Australia installed a water filtration system which uses rainwater and effluent from the animal enclosures carried in two holding tanks of 895.000 l. Within 10 months the plant produces about 28 million litres of recycled water, which is used for exhibit cleaning, pool filling, lawn, ponds, and landscape irrigation.

Cooperation

Conclusion

To realize the implementation of sustainable facilities which mostly require high investments, it is essential and crucial to cooperate and collaborate with other institutions. Therefore, it is important to be informed about opportunities for governmental subsidies, or sponsorship, in which an organisation offers goods or money for projects that a zoo intends to realize. In return the zoo leverages its reputation and media attention to generate publicity for the mutual project. Synergy is another method of cooperation, as it is a mutual promotion of two organisations. Thus for example, a farmer and the municipal utility are investing in a biogas plant where the zoo is the main supplier of dung. In return the zoo receives a part of the produced energy without making large investments.

In order to be more sustainable, it is essential to reduce the ecological footprint of a zoo by implementing and integrating sustainable facilities and operations. This could be achieved with small‑scale projects, for instance solar panels or low light bulbs, or with large‑scale projects like the installation of wind turbines or biogas plants. However, this depends on the budget and the opportunities that a zoo has. Particularly for large‑scale projects, it is necessary and sometimes crucial for zoos to cooperate or collaborate with other institutions in terms of synergy or sponsorship.

To find out more: www.waza.org/en/site/conservation/environmental-sustainability

Overall, there are many possibilities for every type and size of zoo to implement sustainability on a small‑ and large‑scale to lower the environmental impact by balancing environmental efficiency, social responsibility and economic viability.

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Books

Markus Gusset – WAZA Executive Office

Book Reviews Evolution Lost: Status and Trends of the World’s Vertebrates by Jonathan E. M. Baillie, Janine Griffiths, Samuel T. Turvey, Jonathan Loh and Ben Collen Zoological Society of London, London, 2010 | 72 pp ISBN 978-0-900881-40-4 (paperback)

Extinction rates are now fast outpacing speciation rates, resulting in the loss of entire groups of species that have evolved on this planet for millions of years. Within the next century we stand to lose what could amount to one quarter of all vertebrates. The report Evolution Lost has been produced by ZSL in collaboration with WWF, IUCN and SSC. It considers for the first time the current status and trends of global vertebrates in the context of human pressures, with a particular focus on threatened, novel and evolutionary distinct species.

Wild Mammals in Captivity: Principles and Techniques for Zoo Management by Devra G. Kleiman, Katerina V. Thompson and Charlotte Kirk Baer University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2010 | 569 pp ISBN 978-0-226-44009-5 (hard cover)

Zoos and aquariums are vital centres of animal conservation and management. For nearly 15 years, these institutions have relied on Wild Mammals in Captivity as the essential reference for their work. Now the book re‑emerges in a completely updated second edition. Wild Mammals in Captivity presents the most current thinking and practice in the care and management of wild mammals in zoos and other institutions. In one

This book is a wake‑up call. Will we continue to live in “business as usual” mode? Or will we make room for other species? The measures we need to take include direct and much more extensive conservation action to save critical species and habitats. However, we also need to take more painful measures that will affect our own lifestyles, such as massively reducing carbon emissions, removing perverse agricultural subsidies and curtailing the use of nitrogen‑ and phosphorus‑based fertilisers. If society is unwilling to pay these costs, then many of the species with which we share this planet will go the way of the dodo. It is our choice. Do we have the courage to take the difficult decisions?

Jonathan E. M.

The book was published in its first edition in 2010. It contains about 70 pages with numerous colour plates, charts and maps. The book is downloadable for free from www.zsl.org/ evolutionlost and was published by the Zoological Society of London, London, United Kingdom. It is currently available in English only.

Evo lution L ost

Status tusand & Tre Sta Trend ndssof ofthe theWo World bra rld’s’s Ve Verrte teb rattes es

Bail

lie, Janine Gri Jonathan E. M. Baillie, Janine Gri ffiths, Samuel T. Tur vey, Jonatha n Loh and Ben ffiths, Samuel T. Collen Tur vey, Jonatha n Loh and Ben Collen

The book was published in its second comprehensive volume, the editors edition in 2010. It contains almost have gathered the most current 600 pages with numerous halftones, information from studies of animal behaviour; advances in captive breed- line drawings and tables. The book costs 72 € and was published by the ing; research in physiology, genetUniversity of Chicago Press, Chicago, ics and nutrition; and new thinking USA. It is currently available in Engin animal management and welfare. lish only. In this edition, more than three‑ quarters of the text is new and information from more than 75 contributors is thoroughly updated. The standard text for all courses in zoo biology, Wild Mammals in Captivity will, in its new incarnation, continue to be used by zoo managers, animal caretakers, researchers and anyone with an interest in how to manage animals in captive conditions. The book should thus serve as a reference work for all those concerned with the proper husbandry of mammals in human care, as stipulated by WAZA.

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Announcements

WAZA Executive Office

Announcements 75th Anniversary of the Society for the History of Natural History From Royal Gifts to Biodiversity Conservation: The History and Development of Menageries, Zoos and Aquariums Thursday 19th and Friday 20th May 2011 | Chester Zoo, UK This international Symposium is being held in celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Society for the History of Natural History. It is a joint collaboration between the Society for the History of Natural History, WAZA and Chester Zoo, supported by the Linnean Society and the Bartlett Society. The focus of the symposium is to provide a comprehensive overview of the history and development of living wild animal collections across the world. Symposium proceedings will be made available. Invited speakers will be talking on: • The Foundations of Zoo Biology • The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums • Living Collections in the Ancient World • Royal and Private Animal Menageries • Aquariums and Marine and Freshwater Biological Associations • The Development of Regional and National Zoo Associations and Outreach Additional themes to be covered during the symposium, for which abstracts are invited, include The History and Development of: • Zoos and Aquariums as Charitable Organisations • Individual and Specialised Collections (butterflies, Insectariums/Bugworlds, Aviaries, Vivariums/Serpentariums and Dolphinariums) • International Zoo and Aquarium Affiliated Organisations – the importance of partnerships

• Zoos and Aquariums as Leisure Attractions • Zoo and Aquarium Architecture and Masterplanning • Zoo and Aquarium Enclosure and Exhibit Design – the importance of animal welfare • Zoo Animal Welfare, Ethics and Zoo Medicine • The Concept of the “Zoological Garden – the Importance of Plants” • Zoo Animal Acquisitions – from Wild Collections to Sustainably Managed • Conservation Breeding Programmes • Zoo Conservation Science and Research in the Field • Conservation Education in Zoos and Outreach Programmes • Zoo History in the Making For further information on registering for the symposium, submitting an abstract or presenting a poster, please contact Claudine Gibson c.gibson@chesterzoo.org

To find out more: www.waza.org/en/site/pressnews‑events

International Year of Biodiversity wins the Green Award as best global environmental campaign With the slogan “Biodiversity is Life. Biodiversity is our Life”, the United Nations International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) won the coveted 2010 Green Award for best Global Campaign in recognition of the strength of a campaign that inspired activities throughout the world that showcase the value and beauty of biodiversity. The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has served as the United Nations’ focal point for the Year. The award ceremony took place at London’s Natural History Museum on 2 December with more than 400 guests. The ceremony was attended by Sir David Attenborough, Britain’s best loved naturalist with more than 50 years of broadcast experience including the BBC Life series. Sir David Attenborough received the lifetime achievement award. Rt. Hon. Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, delivered a key note address. Mr Eric Falt, the Assistant Director‑General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), also addressed the participants. “The celebrations organized for the International Year of Biodiversity by the citizens and Governments of 191 countries and partners around the world have been an extraordinary human experience aimed at reconnecting people with nature. It has demonstrated the resolve of the people of the world to protect life on Earth,” said Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity. “The 2010 Green Award is recognition of and tribute paid to people of the world for this achievement.”

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Announcements

Gerald Dick & Markus Gusset – WAZA Executive Office

Successful Fundraising for WAZA‑branded Conservation Projects

WAZA was an official partner of the Convention on Biological Diversity during the United Nations “2010 International Year of Biodiversity”. On that occasion, we compiled and assessed conservation projects supported by the world zoo and aquarium community, focusing on WAZAbranded projects. The results of this survey, published in the 2010 issue of the International Zoo Yearbook, show that the evaluated projects are helping to improve the conservation status of high‑profile threatened species and habitats in biodiversity‑rich regions of the world. Furthermore, the results show that thanks to the investment made by zoos and aquariums, particularly financial, these projects reached overall impact scores of a magnitude suggestive of an appreciable contribution to global biodiversity conservation.

• Cross river gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli), Nigeria, Wildlife Conservation Society. © Jörg Adler

• Cat Ba langur (Trachypithecus p. poliocephalus), Vietnam, Cat Ba Langur Conservation Project and Allwetterzoo Münster.

With this evidence available that the WAZA‑branded conservation projects indeed contribute to global biodiversity conservation, with increasing financial support demonstrably leading to a significantly higher conservation impact, we embarked on a fundraising initiative. The aim was to support those branded projects in urgent need of support where small amounts of money can make a big difference to the projects’ contribution to biodiversity conservation. We are very pleased to announce that we have raised US$ 25,000 from the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund for five species catego© Matt West rised as Critically Endangered on the • Scott’s tree kangaroo IUCN Red List: (Dendrolagus scottae), Papua New Guinea, Tenkile Conservation Alliance and Zoos Victoria.

• Przewalski’s horse (Equus ferus przewalskii), Mongolia, International Takhi Group and Zurich Wilderness Park Foundation.

• Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis), Indonesia, IUCN/SSC Crocodile Specialist Group and Cologne Zoo.

Announcements

WAZA Executive Office

Announcements

WAZA GRANT 2011 The application is now open for the WAZA training grants 2011. Grants are awarded to the staff of WAZA member institutions (or affiliates) or to the members or staff of WAZA member associations. These must be members in good standing and have all their membership dues paid at the time of submission of the grant application. Priority will be given to projects that: • Build the capacity of developing country zoos and aquariums and their personnel to manage their collections and contribute to local, regional or global conservation. • Have a significant and quantifiable impact on the public or the local communities incorporated in the project. • Have a more applied research approach and emphasize basic principles of animal care and management or wildlife conservation rather than more technical research. • Are both scientifically and economically feasible in a designated period of time. • Are continuing, rather than “one time” efforts. • Incorporate a strong educational and training component that can serve as a model for future programs. • Already have secured a significant portion of funding. Please visit the WAZA website – member area for further details and meet the deadline of 8 July 2011 in case you are interested.

To find out more: www.yearofthebat.org

WAZA news 1/11

WAZA Bylaws Change Carried The amended WAZA bylaws were unanimously adopted during the 65th Annual Conference in Cologne and according to the rules a mail ballot was carried out thereafter. 192 ballots were received at the executive office, 191 in favour of the change, thus surpassing the 2/3 threshold of 183 voting members. The updated bylaws now include the new executive office address, a consistent wording relating for example to the annual conference, corporate members, WAZA as the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums and also clarifies the Council voting process in the way that the president and president-elect serve as officers at Council and are ratified and the other Council members are elected by the membership. All standing committee members have to be ratified by membership at the administrative session and all members have to sign the WAZA Code of Ethics and Animal Welfare. The bylaws are to be found in the members’ section of the WAZA website(documents).

VIII International Parrot Convention

22–25 September 2014, Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Spain

We have the pleasure to inform you of the above‑mentioned Convention, continuing the series that Loro Parque started in 1986. This announcement might appear to be early, but we want to avoid any clash with other conferences of the zoo and aquarium community, which regrettably has happened on some previous occasions, although not occasioned by WAZA. A significant proportion of WAZA institutions have substantial interest in parrots. The VII International Parrot Convention of this year was an unqualified success, with 650 participants, and our future parrot conventions can always be enriched by the participation of representatives from WAZA members.

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Recent Updates

Kevin Johnson – Amphibian Ark

An Update on Recent Amphibian Ark Activities During the past 12 months, Amphibian Ark staff have been involved in a variety of projects providing support and advice for the ex situ amphibian conservation community, and continuing to raise awareness of the amphibian extinction crisis. We have developed some new tools and a series of new pages on our website aimed at promoting the establishment of best practice techniques for implementing and maintaining ex situ programmes, and we are pleased to highlight those facilities around the world that follow these ideals. We have also just launched an international amphibian photography competition.

Establishing ex situ conservation programmes for amphibians

Two new online tools help to determine whether the required resources are in place before the new programme is implemented, and allow you to calculate the number of founders that should be collected to start the new programme, based on the biology of the species being managed. These two tools can be found on our website. To ensure the best possible outcome for the amphibian populations you are managing, we strongly encourage you to read through these pages and associated documents and make use of the new tools before implementing your new programmes.

Model ex situ amphibian facilities Amphibian Ark considers that there are two steps that are vital in any good ex situ conservation programme, especially those that might eventually involve release back into the wild:

To assist those institutions that are considering implementing new amphibian conservation programmes, we have developed a series of web pages, tools and documents to pro• the programme should be based vide essential background informawithin the range country; and tion. Our website includes links to • the population being managed individual pages, detailing the major should be housed in isolation from steps involved in implementing and other populations occurring outside maintaining ex situ programmes, its range. including: ensuring that you have the required resources; managing Where possible, all amphibian prothe population; collection of foundgrammes that will ultimately result in ers; and monitoring progress of the reintroduction or translocation proprogramme. grammes should be established and maintained within the native range of the species. Maintaining these populations within the range country generally results in lower disease risks than programmes that are located outside the native range of the species. This helps to reduce the risks of introducing non‐native pathogens into the environment around the facility holding the amphibians, and the possibility of introducing novel local pathogens to amphibians that To find out more: are collected and housed outside of www.amphibianark.org the range country.

Amphibian Ark recommends that all ex situ breeding programmes that plan to reintroduce animals back into the wild should maintain their populations in isolation from other captive populations that do not originate from the native range of the species. To further reduce the risk of introducing non‑native pathogens to these populations, best practice husbandry and biosecurity standards should always be followed. Increasing the awareness of biosecurity issues and introducing a quarantine‑like approach to amphibian husbandry of enclosures and rooms will significantly reduce the risk of a potential epidemic outbreak of chytridiomycosis in captivity, or in animals destined to be released to the wild. For more information about recommended husbandry and biosecurity standards for amphibians, please see the documents A guide to husbandry and biosecurity standards required for the safe and responsible management of ex situ populations of amphibians and A manual for control of infectious diseases in amphibian survival assurance colonies and reintroduction programs on our website. We have compiled a list of institutions and their respective amphibian programmes that adhere to these two vital aspects of ex situ population management. Information about these institutions and their programmes can be found on our website.

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Recent Updates

Markus Gusset – WAZA Executive Office

Update on International Studbooks

Amphibian photography competition Amphibian Ark has just launched a new international photo competition, called Just shoot me! – An Amphibian Ark photography contest. We will be producing another sensational amphibian calendar for 2012 that will feature the 12 winning photos from this competition, which will be selected by our panel of five international judges. The overall winner of the competition will feature on the front cover of the calendar. Amongst the 12 winning entries, one photo will also be selected as the best image in each of these three categories: In the wild – photos must be of amphibians in the wild; In captivity – photos of amphibians in a captive environment; and Youth – open to photographers who are under 18 years of age.

There are currently 121 active international studbooks (ISBs), including 159 species or sub‑ species (some ISBs cover more than one taxon). All previously pending issues were solved during the year 2010. The following events regarding ISBs occurred since 1 October 2010:

ISBs archived

• None Amphibian Ark calendars will be available for sale around the world in August 2011 and we are very grateful to Fowler Printing and Graphics for their generous support with printing the calendars. Proceeds will be used to assist Amphibian Ark conservation programmes that are saving threatened amphibians. For more information about the competition, or to submit your images, please visit our website. If you have not already done so, you can become a member of the Amphibian Ark and subscribe to our free quarterly online newsletter, or find out more about our activities, by visiting our website.

ISBs established

• None

Transfer of ISBs to new keepers

• On 15 November 2010, CPM approved the transfer of the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) ISB to Joe Christman (Disney’s Animal Kingdom, USA). • On 22 November 2010, CPM approved the transfer of the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) ISB to Christian Kern (Berlin Animal Park, Germany). • On 22 November 2010, CPM approved the transfer of the gaur (Bos gaurus) ISB to André Schüle (Berlin Zoo, Germany).

The winning photo in each of the three competition categories will each win two beautiful amphibian books: Frogs of Panama by Douglas Woodhams, and Sapos by Santiago Ron, Martin Bustamante, Luis Coloma and Belén Mena. The 12 winning photos will each receive a copy of the 2012 Amphibian Ark calendar, a copy of Threatened amphibians of the world published by IUCN and NatureServe, and a copy of Treefrogs… prehistoric survivors with a global message by Ted Schiffman. Primates in Zürich Zoo. © Gerald Dick / WAZA

WAZA news 1/11

Recent Updates

Markus Gusset & Gerald Dick – WAZA Executive Office

Transfer of ISBs to new institutions

• None

The Global Reach of Zoos and Aquariums

Further decisions

• On 15 October 2010, data management issues for the ruffed lemurs (Varecia spp.) were solved, as the ISB was submitted.

Pending issues

• As of 31 December 2010, one ISB is vacant (Pallas cat).

Resource Manual for International Studbook Keepers

• At the 65th WAZA Annual Conference on 18 October 2010 in Cologne (Germany), the Committee for Population Management adopted a Resource Manual for International Studbook Keepers. This document clarifies the issues of application for a new studbook, initial studbook data gathering, studbook data compilation, studbook data validation, creating a studbook document, studbook distribution and reporting, changes of studbook keeper and/or institution, studbook complaint and dispute resolution, and studbook data stewardship. This document thus makes essential reading for all current and prospective international studbook keepers; it is available for download in the Member Area of the WAZA website and from the WAZA Executive Office (secretariat@waza.org)

There is no up‑to‑date estimate available of the number of people who are potentially exposed to environmental education, whether formal or informal, at zoos and aquariums. Furthermore, we entirely lack an estimate of the financial expenditures of the world zoo and aquarium community on wildlife conservation. Therefore, we approached 12 national and regional zoo and aquarium associations, covering all regions of the world, to provide a figure regarding the following two questions: How many visitors did your member institutions receive in 2008? How much money was spent on wildlife conservation by your member institutions in 2008? (Wildlife conservation in this context encompasses in situ conservation of wild species and habitats, including related ex situ work). Reference: Gusset, M. & Dick, G. (2011) The global reach of zoos and aquariums in visitor numbers and conservation expenditures. Zoo Biology 30: in press.

Zoos and aquariums worldwide reportedly receive more than 700 million visitors annually. This figure is unparalleled by any other group of conservation‑oriented institutions. The world zoo and aquarium community reportedly spends about US$ 350 million on wildlife conservation each year. In relation to major international conservation organisations, the world zoo and aquarium community is among the main providers of conservation funding. The large number of visitors received and amount of conservation money spent suggest that the world zoo and aquarium community has the potential to play an important role in both environmental education and wildlife conservation. We are grateful to ALPZA, AMACZOOA, AZA, CAZA, CAZG, EARAZA, EAZA, JAZA, PAAZAB, SAZARC, SEAZA and ZAA for providing figures on visitor numbers and conservation expenditures.

WAZA news 1/11

Recent Updates | New WAZA Projects

Chris Banks – Zoos Victoria, Parkville, Australia

Cardamom Mountains Wildlife Sanctuaries Programme

WAZA Project 10018

In spite of three decades of conflict, Cambodia still contains many of the best remaining wildlife populations and habitats in south‑east Asia. Of special interest are the Cardamom Mountains in the country’s south‑west. This remote wilderness was effectively closed to the outside world until fighting ended in 1998, and is still remarkably intact. Covering more than 2 million ha, the Cardamom Mountains comprise the largest single area of original forest remaining in mainland south ‑east Asia. They are largely dense evergreen forest, with significant areas of dry deciduous forests in the foothills. The first biological surveys of the Cardamom Mountains, in 1999, were led by scientists from Fauna & Flora International. And although less than 5% of the mountains have been explored to date, literally hundreds of species new to science have been discovered. The mountains also hold significant populations of many threatened species, such as the Asian elephant, clouded leopard, Malayan sun bear, tiger, Eld’s deer, green peafowl and Siamese crocodile.

Based on these preliminary surveys, Although the CMRG is a small team of the Cardamom Mountains are now Cambodian biologists, supported by considered one of the most imporFauna & Flora International advisors, tant areas for conservation in Asia. they have contributed significantly They form a Global Biodiversity to increasing knowledge of Phnom Hotspot and one of the world’s Global Samkos’ biodiversity: 200 Ecoregions. Approximately 1 mil- • Almost 20% of Phnom Samkos has lion ha in the core of the mountains been fully explored and preliminary are protected. visits to other remote sites undertaken. Fauna & Flora International has been • Long‑term landscape monitoring at working with the Cambodian Ministry 30 permanent locations has generof Environment, local governments ated data on content and changes in and communities since 2000 to vegetation communities. secure funds and technical support • At least four new species have been to ensure the long‑term protection discovered. of the Cardamom Mountains, with • A management plan for the sanctuone specific focus being the 330 000 ary has been completed. ha Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary. • Important enforcement actions On‑ground research and manageundertaken to stop the illegal colment actions are facilitated by the lection of safrole oil, which is a key Cardamom Mountains Research ingredient in the manufacture of the Group (CMRG), which is now part of narcotic ecstasy, and which involves the Centre of Biodiversity Conservalocal forest clearing. tion at the Royal University of Phnom • More than 30 000 ha of Community Penh. The CMRG has a countrywide Protected Areas established and remit, but the Phnom Samkos Sanc25 community wardens appointed tuary is the highest priority. and trained. • Almost 100 rangers trained, equipped and active in Phnom Samkos. Actions to reduce the impact of illegal forest clearing and wildlife poaching associated with the construction of a hydro‑dam and reservoir at Stung Atay in the south of the sanctuary.

WAZA news 1/11

Recent Updates | New WAZA Projects

Chris Banks – Zoos Victoria, Parkville, Australia

Melako Community Conservancy, Kenya The Melako Community Conservancy Zoos Victoria staff in 2009 and the (MCC) operates under the banner results are with the NRT and Melako of the Northern Rangelands Trust Board for consideration of next steps. (NRT) in northern Kenya. NRT is Building on NRT’s Business Enterprise a community‑led initiative, registered projects, Zoos Victoria promoted a in 2004, whose members represent “Beads for Wildlife” campaign over politically and socially marginalised the Christmas 2009 period – purchaspastoralist communities of northern ing beadwork from the NRT women’s Kenya. The Trust assists communities groups and selling these in the retail to use biodiversity conservation and outlets at Werribee Open Range Zoo. improved environmental manageThis has proven extremely popular ment as a means of improving and across Melbourne and generated diversifying livelihoods. income that helped sustain families in Melako during a very severe MCC, established in 2005, is NRT’s drought. Based on the success of this northernmost community conservtrial, a five year campaign is being ancy, covering an area of almost launched in October 2010, which will 80 000 ha and with a population of see sale of the items in Werribee and approximately 6000 people from Melbourne zoos and expanded colthe Rendille, Samburu and Boran laboration with the women’s groups tribal groups. Melako is an important to include conservation literacy and area for Grevy’s zebra, hosting the partnerships with Zoos Victoria staff. northernmost significant population of this species, with an estimated 200 The MCC has five main objectives: individuals or 9% of the total popula- • Restore the environment – land, tion. Other species also found in the trees and pasture. area include African wild dog, lion, • Enhance monitoring, protection and elephant, beisa oryx, cheetah, buffalo use of wildlife to provide sustainable and reticulated giraffe. income generating opportunities. • Develop and enhance livestock In recent decades, this region of north‑based business opportunities, ern Kenya has suffered from internal tourism and alternative income conflict driven by disagreements over activities. land use, particularly access to pasture • Support community development for grazing livestock. Consequently, through education, health, drought the first major focus of any conservpreparedness, water security and ancy on establishment is to address sanitation awareness. these social tensions and conflict, in • Build external and internal relationorder that people can return to their ships and good governance. traditional areas and pressure on wildlife can be lifted. The wildlife scouts have played a major role in achieving these outcomes in Melako and are the primary focus of the Zoos Victoria partnership with the MCC. Two further initiatives supported by Zoos Victoria are conservation education and development of local business skills. An assessment of conservation education needs was undertaken across the MCC by two

WAZA Project 10019

Although the MCC was only established in 2005, important progress has been made in conserving wildlife and supporting community development: • Wildlife surveys carried out by the Melako scouts have shown an increase in wildlife numbers in Melako since 2006, including buffalo, which had not been seen in the area for over 50 years (unfortunately, almost all of the buffaloes died in the severe drought of 2008/2009). • The formation of an anti‑poaching unit, made of scouts from Melako and two neighbouring conservancies, has resulted in a significant decrease in elephant poaching for ivory (no elephants were killed in the MCC in 2009), and protection for many other species in the area. • A 500 ha wildlife protection zone (no livestock) has been established. • A managed programme of shooting sand grouse is generating almost US$ 10,000 per year, 60% of which supports community‑agreed projects such as student bursaries (the numbers of grouse shot each year is based on rigorous counts of bird numbers and are less than 10% of the population). • More than 100 women are employed in local businesses to produce bead products, providing a sustainable income and reducing demand for livestock, which results in reduced impact on pasture and habitats.

WAZA news 1/11

Recent Updates | New WAZA Projects

Karin Osbahr – Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales, Bogotá, Colombia

Pacarana Conservation Programme Since 1990 the Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales (U.D.C.A.) in Bogotá, Colombia, has been working on the research of hystricomorph rodents of the Andean region, including the pacarana (Dinomys branickii) and the mountain paca (Cuniculus toczanowskii). The pacarana project is part of U.D.C.A.’s Andean Ecosystem Research Line and the Fauna Research Group is officially recognised by the Colombian government. The project involves captive breeding and basic biological and ecological in situ and ex situ research, due to the limited knowledge of morphophysiology, behaviour, parasitism, geographic distribution and nutritional ecology. The whole research project has been focused on obtaining information for the design of a management plan for these endangered species, keeping in mind if possible the reintroduction of captive‑bred animals as well as habitat management and educational programmes for local rural communities. As part of the study, the university obtained a group of pacaranas confiscated by the Colombian government from illegal wildlife trade. The breeding group is presently housed in a large outdoor enclosure at the university. During the past five years the research project at U.D.C.A. has housed a group of 17 pacaranas. Even though births have occurred throughout the time, the newborns died during the first days of life and an increased mortality in adults reduced the initial population to eight animals. This mortality rate seems to be common in captive pacarana populations, but the causes have not been clarified yet. During the project clinical, nutritional and biological

aspects will be evaluated. As a result, together with a studbook, captive breeding management guidelines are expected. Considering that most of the pacaranas kept in Colombian zoos require better housing conditions, it is planned to improve them to get more stable breeding colonies in the country. One of the most important aspects for in situ conservation is the knowledge of the area that has to be protected, in order to guarantee that the animals have enough food and resting places. With the pacarana being a rare and elusive species, most of the common field methods used to get information about habitat use and movement patterns are not useful. Therefore, non‑invasive methods such as determination of the reproductive cycle testing faecal pregnanediol in females, monitoring faecal cortisol, standardise faecal group pellet counts to establish population size, faecal DNA testing as well as the interpretation of the large vocalisation repertoire of the species in relation to behaviour will be used at the breeding colony at U.D.C.A to get models that could be applied later under field conditions. Once the

WAZA Project 10020

proposed methods are standardised they will be complemented with camera trap methods to define patterns of habitat and space use at two localities (Santuario de Fauna y Flora Otún Quimbaya and Reserva Forestal Campoalegre/Risaralda) to evaluate local populations in relation to habitat fragmentation. Even though the chosen localities are under protection, hunting is common. The pacarana has a low reproduction rate so any reduction of population size could imply a significant tendency to local extinction. Therefore, the study of hunting rates and the current pacarana extraction as a local extinction factor will also be included. The results of the Pacarana Conservation Programme will allow to define priority problems by a systematic evaluation of local conditions and to start an action plan using Dinomys branickii as a flagship species, which will stand for or promote conservation in a general or regional sense. Workshops with the local and regional environmental authorities are planned to get a national conservation programme for the species approved by the Colombian government.

WAZA news 1/11

Recent Updates | New WAZA Projects

Addisu Mekonnen – Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

Research and Conservation of Two Primates Endemic to Ethiopia

WAZA Project 10021

The Ethiopian highlands are home to three endemic primates, including the Bale monkey (Chlorocebus djamdjamensis), Boutourlini’s blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis boutourlinii) and the gelada monkey (Theropithecus gelada). This project encompasses a study on two of the major endemic and little known primates of Ethiopia, the Bale monkey and the rare Arsi gelada monkey. The Bale monkey is endemic to the southern Ethiopian highlands. Recently, the species was classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Bale monkey is one of Africa’s least known primates, due to a lack of information about its basic ecology, distribution and behaviour. A recent study showed that Bale monkeys exclusively inhabit bamboo forests and can be considered as bamboo forest habitat specialists. This habitat preference of Bale monkeys is almost certainly because of their dietary specialisation on young bamboo leaves. Therefore, Bale monkeys are bamboo specialist folivores, diverged from their close relatives of the genus Chlorocebus, such as grivet (C. aethiops) and vervet monkeys (C. pygerythrus), which are generalists.

The main threats to Bale monkeys are habitat loss, habitat degradation and hunting by the local community, as they are considered as crop pests. The legal harvesting of bamboo by the local community for commercial purposes could pose a serious threat to Bale monkey populations in the future by further restricting their narrow range. However, recent observations in Sidamo showed that small populations can persist in areas where bamboo forest has been cleared. Adaptation to habitat modification is an issue that should be studied further. A recent study showed that Bale monkeys were only surveyed in about 40% of the bamboo forest in the Bale Mountains, revealing three new localities. Therefore, further surveys and ecological studies are necessary. A recent population genetic analysis showed that the Arsi gelada population should be regarded as a distinctive sub‑species (T. gelada unnamed sub‑species). Furthermore, their physical appearance is different from the northern and central gelada monkey populations. The total population size is thought to be very small (perhaps only about 600) and

their distribution range is extremely restricted. The Arsi gelada is erroneously listed together with T. gelada obscurus in the Least Concern category on the IUCN Red List. The Arsi gelada, as a distinctive sub‑species with a small remaining population, is currently threatened by extensive cultivation, human settlement, grazing, predation and elimination as crop pests. Therefore, Arsi geladas surely fall into the Threatened and most likely the Endangered category on the IUCN Red List. Given the intense anthropogenic disturbance the geladas at Arsi face, it is critical that the population status and ecology of this unique sub‑species is studied, if appropriate conservation actions are to be devised and implemented before it is too late. A study on the distribution, population genetics and basic ecology of these two primates, including analyses of habitat preference, ranging behaviour and feeding ecology, is important for determining their niche and devising management actions to conserve the two species/sub‑species and their habitat. In addition, the research project will provide employment opportunities for local people and help generate income from tourism in the long‑term, which will contribute substantially to sustainable development in Ethiopia.

WAZA news 1/11

Recent Updates | WAZA Projects

Alankar Jha – Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, India

Studying the Behaviour of Red Pandas in Captivity and in the Wild WAZA Project 10022

The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) is The objectives of the project are: a small mammal of the Himalayas, • To study the behaviour of red almost the size of a jungle cat with pandas at Padmaja Naidu Himaa bright chestnut coat and ringed layan Zoological Park, including tail. It is distributed in the Himalayas their breeding biology, using closed from central Nepal through northern circuit television and night vision Burma and in the mountains of south‑ cameras. western China (Sichuan, Yunnan and • To study the behaviour of red panXiang provinces at an altitude of das, including within and between 1500–4000 m) The red panda is catspecies interactions, in the wild at egorised as Vulnerable on the IUCN Singhalila National Park with the aid Red List of Threatened Species and is of camera traps. included under CITES as an Appendix I species. Red pandas are threatened by habitat loss, habitat fragmentation and trapping. Various ex situ conservation efforts exist for the red panda. Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (PNHZP) in Darjeeling, India, is dedicated to the conservation of endangered Himalayan fauna and embarked on a conservation breeding initiative for red pandas in the early 1980s with the acquisition of 1.3 animals. At present the zoo keeps 15 (10.3.2) red pandas and managed to release four animals back into the wild. The present project aims to look into and study various aspects of red panda behaviour at the zoo and in the wild.

…Red pandas are threatened by habitat loss, habitat fragmentation and trapping…

WAZA news 1/11

Recent Updates | WAZA Projects

Roger Wilkinson and Simon Dowell – Chester Zoo, United Kingdom

Sichuan Forest Biodiversity Project

The Liang Shan region is a mountainous area of southern Sichuan situated alongside the Yangtze River to the south and the rising peaks of the Tibetan plateau to the west. This area offers outstanding forest habitat for a diverse range of species and is internationally recognised for its biodiversity. Following major floods in 1998, the Chinese government imposed logging bans to preserve valuable watersheds, which presented an excellent opportunity to restore and protect these important forest areas. This also produced new sustainable development challenges, as many local communities were dependent on the logging trade for income. The persistence of human pressures, including extensive use of wood for fuel and increased demand for forest products such as bamboo shoots led to overexploitation and habitat degradation in many areas. More recently the rise in the demand for tourism has brought additional pressures. In consequence, with the partnership of Chester Zoo what began as a Liverpool John Moores University research venture has evolved into a holistic multi‑faceted biodiversity conservation project.

The overarching aims of the project are to enhance the network of protected areas for forest biodiversity in the Liang Shan region and to engage local people in their sustainable management and development. The project works closely with the Sichuan Forest Department and currently supports four reserves across Sichuan and has focused on three of these: Laojunshan, Mamize and Heizhugou. In 2009 support also began at the Ma’anshan Nature Reserve as a step towards the expansion of protected areas. Together these protect 90,000 ha of subtropical, temperate deciduous and coniferous forest and alpine meadows. Many threatened endemic birds are restricted to these forests, including the grey‑faced liocichla (Liocichla omeiensis) and the Sichuan hill‑partridge (Arborophila rufipectus). The higher level forests and alpine meadows provide important habitats for red panda (Ailurus fulgens) and the most southerly wild population of giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). The area is also important for amphibians, such as the unique Taliang knobby newt (Tylototriton taliangensis) and many plants including the world famous dove tree (Davidia involucrate). The main objectives of the project are: • To establish effective wildlife monitoring and research programmes to evaluate management practices and detect population changes. • To work with local communities to support sustainable use of forest resources and find alternatives to these products. • To improve local awareness of the reserves and their wildlife by evaluating current awareness and enhancing publicity. • To develop a conservation and tourism management strategy for each reserve and the whole region.

WAZA Project 10023

Since 2002 the decline of the Sichuan hill‑partridge has been reversed through targeted research‑informed conservation and Laojunshan has achieved National Nature Reserve status. Also a large focus of the project has been in raising awareness of wildlife protection and environmental issues through engagement with local people. Close to Laojunshan Nature Reserve, biogas stoves have been installed, which reduce the reliance on wood for fuel, allowing secondary forest to recover and reducing the disturbance of nesting birds. Initial results suggest that households using biogas have reduced their wood consumption by 80–95%. Recipients of these stoves are now helping reserve staff with raising public awareness and patrols to prevent illegal poaching. A similar venture, implemented close to Mamize, uses fuel efficient stoves, reducing the need for fuel wood by 30%. Also at Mamize a Local Community Task Force has been established to expand patrolling capacity during the bamboo shoot collection season. In Heizhugou beehives were built around the forest station and are maintained by local forest workers. Others were donated to local families who now manage them to produce honey as an alternative to harvesting forest products. The honey is sold as a specialist product to increase annual household income. Asian honey bees (Apis cerana) are used and have been observed visiting many wild plants, thus helping to pollinate important species within the local plant community. Future plans are to continue evaluation and development of community outreach and to promote the development of a conservation strategy for the Liang Shan region.

WAZA news 1/11

Peter Siminski – The Living Desert, Palm Desert, USA

Mexican Wolf Reestablishment and Recovery Programme

WAZA Project 10024

The Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) is the rarest, southernmost and most genetically distinct sub‑species of the grey wolf in North America. Its geographical range in the United States included Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. In Mexico, the wolf was found in the Sierra Madre Occidental and Oriental and adjoining highlands as far south as Distrito Federal. Mexican wolf habitat includes oak woodland, pine/oak woodland or pine forest with adjacent grassland within mountainous terrain. The primary cause of the Mexican wolf’s decline throughout its range is human persecution. Habitat degradation, human encroachment and inadequate law enforcement may be further factors. In 1976 the Mexican wolf was listed as an endangered sub‑species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973. In Mexico this sub‑species is also listed as endangered. Missing from the landscape for decades, the howl of the Mexican wolf can again be heard in the mountains of the south‑western United States thanks to the cooperation of the nations, organisations and zoological institutions involved in the Mexican wolf recovery programme. International wolf experts rate the recovery of the Mexican wolf as the highest priority wolf recovery programme in the world. Between 1977 and 1980, five wolves were removed from the wild in Mexico to start an ex situ breeding programme under the auspices of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and Mexico’s Secretaria del Medio Ambiente Recursos Naturales y Pesca. Since 1993 the U.S. population has been managed through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan

(SSP). The population in Mexico is managed by the Direccion General de Vida Silvestre. Programme participants today comprise two nations, 48 zoological institutions and conservation organizations managing jointly some 300 Mexican wolves. On March 1998, 11 captive‑raised Mexican wolves in three family groups were released on public lands in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area in the United States; they were the first free‑roaming Mexican wolves confirmed in the wild since 1980. Today, the total wild population may be greater than 40 animals, most having been born in the wild. The reestablishment goal is 100 Mexican wolves for this population in the United States. Mexico has identified

several potential release locations and is promoting educational and public relations efforts in those areas. As of 2010, Mexico is preparing for the release of wolves in once native habitat within Mexico.

…the rarest and most genetically distinct sub‑species of the grey wolf in North America…

WAZA news 1/11

Sue Lowe – Paington Zoo Environmental Park, United Kingdom

Omo Forest Conservation Project The Omo Forest Reserve within Ogun State, Nigeria, is of great conservation value with 200 species of tree, 125 species of bird and many mammal species including forest elephant, chimpanzee and white‑throated guenon monkeys, all of which are seriously endangered. The Nigerian Forest Elephant Group (NFEG) was established in 1989 in order to protect the 1300 km2 Omo Forest Reserve and work towards its long‑term conservation. Paignton Zoo Environmental Park began supporting the NFEG in 1993 and has been involved with the programme ever since, although management of the programme was officially handed over to the Nigerian Conservation Foundation in 2006. © Paington Zoo Setting of a camera trap in Omo Forest.

When the Education Department at Paignton Zoo heard about the NFEG in 1993, it was decided that this was an exciting new project worth supporting. Funds were raised in the zoo and in the local community to support the education work of the NFEG, which involved two educators teaching children in the Omo Forest primary schools and a ranger helping with various practical tasks, including acting as a wildlife guide in the forest. In 1996, collections were begun at elephant keeper talks; these continue to happen twice a day throughout the summer season and, as well as informing visitors about the zoo’s elephants, they also serve to raise awareness of the project in Nigeria and provide an opportunity to raise funds for the project from visitors. Staff from the zoo visited the Omo Forest for the first time in 1997 and regular support was established. In 2001, zoo staff made another visit and discovered that the NFEG was no longer operating effectively following the chairmanship changing hands. It was considered that the work being carried out by the two educators and the ranger was worthwhile and should continue despite the problems with NFEG. It was therefore decided that the zoo would fund the three staff directly, including paying monthly salaries and all associated expenses. As a result, communication increased and the education work became more established with the educators visiting six forest primary schools each week, teaching the top three classes in each school about the forest, its wildlife and the need for conservation. A Conservation Club was also set up for the older children who had left the primary schools but still maintained an interest in the project and the conservation of the forest. This club still continues to hold weekly meetings

WAZA Project 10025

and has a programme of activities that include campaigning to raise conservation awareness, holding meetings with community organisations and running events such as football tournaments to draw attention to the Conservation Club and its aims. The ranger also continues to make weekly visits to the camp in the heart of the forest, which was established by the NFEG. He looks after the buildings, keeps tracks and trails clear and maintains the area so that it can continue to be used as a base for people wishing to stay in the forest. During these visits, he acts as an excellent guide, with an unrivalled knowledge of the local forest and its wildlife. Further zoo staff visits were made in 2003, 2006 and 2010. In 2006, management of the project was handed over to the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) but the zoo has continued to provide all the funds for the three staff and has maintained the same level of communication. Further developments have taken place more recently with a major project being funded initially by BG Nigeria with the aim of conserving the Omo Forest along with two adjoining forests, Shasha and Oluwa. In 2007, a feasibility study for this Omo‑Shasha‑Oluwa Forest Conservation Project was carried out and this confirmed that a conservation project was essential for the survival of the forests. Support has been obtained from the three State Governments involved and further funding has been obtained by another stakeholder, ProNatura International (PNI) to continue with the next phase, which will include forest guards to ensure the full protection of the forest. A three‑way Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the NCF, PNI and Paignton Zoo with a determination on all sides to work towards the long‑term conservation of an important forest habitat in Nigeria.

WAZA news 1/11

Luis Jácome – Buenos Aires Zoo, Argentina

Andean Condor Conservation Project

WAZA Project 10027

The Andean condor (Vultur gryphus), the largest flying bird in the world, has started to become extinct in vast areas of its original distribution. Indiscriminate killing due to the misconception that it preys on livestock (when it is actually a scavenger), use of toxic baits, ingestion of lead bullets and habitat loss are the causes that threaten its survival. Its disappearance not only affects the delicate ecological balance but also represents a terrible loss for the native communities in South America who have honoured it for thousands of years, considering it a sacred link between men and God. This magnificent bird faces extinc© Hernán Pepe tion throughout its extensive range, particularly in Venezuela (where it was Andean Condor born by artificial incubation at Buenos Aires Zoo. declared extinct in 1965), Colombia and Ecuador. Reduced populations remain in Peru and Bolivia and though A new chapter initiated in 2003, have been released, including rescued the largest populations survive in called “The Return of the Condor to and rehabilitated animals. All these Chile and Argentina, local extinctions the Sea”, aims at reintroducing this liberations were preceded by native have already taken place. In Argentina, species on the Atlantic Patagonian ceremonies. Intense educational and naturalists such as Charles Darwin and coast. More than 2000 km of coast media campaigns were articulated, Perito Moreno came upon condors on was covered with the aim of checking highlighting the conservation probthe Atlantic coast of Patagonia during locations that historical references lems of this species. the mid 19th century, in places where had mentioned. This field campaign the species has disappeared in the last determined that the Paileman Hills, Every day, valuable information is 170 years. a Mapuche term that means “Condor obtained. The birds’ flight covers the in Peace”, proved to have all the neccoast up to the high Andes and their Since 1991, the Andean Condor Conessary characteristics for the Andean ancestral roosting places are being servation Project (ACCP), as part of a condor to recover its place. Located determined, which helps define hot binational conservation programme in Valcheta, Río Negro, Argentina, spots for their conservation. During developed together with Chile, has Paileman Hills lie northeast of the So- 2010 two breeding pairs have been managed to reintroduce 99 condors muncura Plateau, declared an Integral formed and each of them successin South America, in areas as remote Natural Reserve in 1986. On 22 Defully raised one chick. These are the as the Venezuelan “páramos” or the cember 2003, five young condors, first wild condors born on the Atlantic “fueguinian channels” of the Austral artificially incubated from eggs comcoast in the last 170 years. At the end Patagonia. The goal of ACCP is to ing from Argentine zoos and raised of 2010, another nest was discovered conserve the Andean condor in all of in human isolation at Buenos Aires near Paileman; the spirit of the condor its South American distribution, also Zoo, were released before the eyes of returns to occupy its ancient place! rescuing the ancestral knowledge hundreds of people. Previous to the of the native people. ACCP works to liberation, a Mapuche ceremony was This project is realised in the frame improve the viability of wild condor performed propitiating their return of the Binational Conservation populations by breeding and rearing to the wild. From this moment on, Programme of Chile and Argentina captive specimens and rescuing and a complex system of scientific study (CONAF, Aves Chile, Parque Nacional rehabilitating wild condors, in order and tracking based on the use of tede Santiago, Fundación Bioandina to release them back into their natulemetry and satellite transmission was and Buenos Aires Zoo). ral environment. launched. Subsequently, 30 condors

WAZA news 1/11

WAZA Executive Office

Recent Updates

Call for papers 66th Annual Conference and Congress 2011 will take place in Prague, Czech Republic, 2-6 October 2011. The venue is the Hotel Intercontinental Prague (www.icprague.com). Registration will open on 10th March 2011 and the early bird rate will be available till 31st May 2011. The link for registering will be provided on the WAZA website (Events). The overall theme is Partnering for sustainable zoos and aquariums. Contributions are especially sought for the following topics: • Secure Long‑Term Animal Collections (sustainable collections) • Animal welfare, legislation and public opinion • Business prerogatives – making money and saving wildlife Please send applications only in relationship to those themes, selection will be carried out strictly in order to guarantee to the point presentations and discussions. Deadline for submission of title and abstract is the 31st May 2011. Please also notify whether the presentation is meant as a longer briefing paper or as a shorter contribution (like examples for solutions). A form for the call for papers is provided on WAZA’s website for download, www.waza.org (Events).

Future WAZA Conference Venues • 2011 Prague, Czech Republic (2–6 Oct 2011) • 2012 Melbourne, Australia (7–11 Oct 2012) • 2013 Disney’s Animal Kingdom, USA (13–17 Oct 2013) • 2014 New Delhi, India (9–13 Nov 2014) • 2015 Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (11–15 Oct 2015)

New Directors • Dr. Václav Poživil replaced Tomáš Kraus at Zoo Ústí nad Labem (Czech Republic) • Milan Šovčík replaced Vladimír Šrank at Zoologická záhrada Bojnice (Slovakia) • Dr. Brice Lefaux replaced Dr. Pierre Moisson at Zoo de Mulhouse (France) as of 1 Sept 2010

New WAZA Members • Fondazione Bioparco di Roma | Italy | as institutional member • Jungle Cat World Wildlife Park, Orono, Ontario | Canada | as institutional member

WAZA Membership as of 1st January 2011 Associations 24 Institutions 253 Affiliates 15 Corporates 11 Life and Honorary members 98

WAZA news 1/11

Recent Updates

WAZA Executive Office

Recent Updates

Strategic Marketing in Action • Strategic Marketing • Marketing the Zoo and Aquarium Community • Marketing, Education and Conservation • Turn Bad News into Good News • Social Marketing in Action Modern zoos and aquariums are facing multiple challenges, as they simultaneously strive for setting and maintaining high standards and sustainable practices in education, recreation, research and conservation. Having an effective marketing strategy is crucial for communicating the value that zoos and aquariums serve in these multiple roles. To help achieve this goal, representatives of the global zoo and aquarium community will share case studies, best practices and strategic proposals at 7th International Zoo and Aquarium Marketing Conference. This conference is jointly organised by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) and Granby Zoo in Granby (Quebec) in Canada, which will host the conference from June 13 to 16, 2011.

Costs

• Early bird fee – before May 1st 2011: $525 CDN • Regular price – after May 1st 2011: $565 CDN If more than one delegate from a zoo registers for the conference, a 10% discount will be given. Visit www.waza.org or www.zoodegranby.com/waza for updates on the conference

Call for Papers Deadline for submissions: February 28th 2011

Please fill out the “Call for Papers form” on www.waza.org and return it to Ulrike Fox, WAZA Executive Office, IUCN Conservation Centre, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland or by e-mail: marketing@waza.org. You will be contacted before March 31st about the selection of your proposal.

WAZA news 1/11

Recent Updates

WAZA Executive Office

Recent Updates

Of course you can also order all items separately – all you have to do is send us an email secretariat@waza.org – and we will send it out immediately and only charge you for the handling and shipping costs.

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Package 2 | 20 CHF

(for handling and shipping) • 1 × WAZA Pin • 1 × WAZA Tie

Package 3 | 10 CHF

(for handling and shipping) • 1 × WAZA Pin • 1 × WAZA Sticker Set (12 stickers in 3 different sizes)

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Follow the good examples of Nordensark, PAAZAB and others and make your membership visible on your website and other materials. The images can be obtained from the WAZA executive office (Ulrike.Fox@waza.org).

Package 1 | 30 CHF

(for handling and shipping) • 1 × WAZA Pin • 1 × WAZA Tie • 1 × WAZA Sticker Set (12 stickers in 3 different sizes) • One copy of the WAZA NEWS Edition 1/2010, 2/2010, 3/2010 and 4/2010 and WAZA Strategy flyer (eng/span/ger/fr)

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Make Your WAZA Membership Visible!

Show that you are a member of WAZA! The WAZA membership kit is ready for you (as long as stock lasts). Please find the details in the membership area of our website or order from secretariat@waza.org.

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• Executive Director: Gerald.Dick@waza.org • Secretariat (Monica Gamp): Monica.Gamp@waza.org or secretariat@waza.org • Marketing/Communication: Ulrike.Fox@waza.org • Conservation/International Studbooks: Markus.Gusset@waza.org

Get Your Membership Kit!

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WAZA Executive Office

WAZA news 1/11

Membership

Recent Updates Membership Application Nominated as affiliate member

Bioparque M’bopicuá, Uruguay • Sponsors: Osvaldo D. J. Guaita (Buenos Aires Zoo) and Wolfgang Kiessling (Loro Parque, Tenerife) • Founded: 2001 • Mission: Montes del Plata promotes the responsible management of resources through the conservation of soil, water, air and biodiversity. The company manages two areas of high conservation value. Each has specific management plans, including actions such as the restoration of natural habitats and the monitoring of flora and fauna, as well as other areas that are representative of different ecosystems such as native woodlands, wetlands, rocky areas and natural pastures. • Area: 160 ha • Collection Mammals: 14 species and 119 specimens Birds: 39 species and 202 specimens Reptiles: 1 species and 26 specimens • Staff: 6 permanent • Visitors: 20.000 students in eight years, not open to public • Owned by: Montes del Plata company. • Director: Juan Villalba‑Macías • Address: Ruta 24, km 0, Dpto., 65.000 – Dpto. De Río Negro, Uruguay

The Bioparque M’Bopicuá was founded on 5 March 2001, when the government of Uruguay authorized its operations for scientific and educational purposes. It has a surface area of 160 hectares and is located at the banks of the Uruguay River. Its main objective is the ex‑situ reproduction of endangered Uruguayan fauna to be later introduced into natural habitats. Although it is closed to the public, at special times (when there is no reproductive activity) educational institutions are permitted to visit. Throughout its eight year history, 20,000 students have visited the facilities.

The current collection consists of 347 specimens from 54 different species. Over the years of operation, several species have been reproduced, such as Pampas Deer, Grey Brocket Deer, Pampas Cat, Geoffroy’s Cat, Coatimundi, Southern River Otter, Prehensile‑tailed Porcupine, Collared Peccary, Green Cardinal, White Woodpecker, Crested Cariama, Coscoroba and Black‑Necked Swans, Red Shoveler, Roseate Spoonbill, Dusky‑legged Guan, and Broad‑ Snouted Caiman, among others. In compliance with its main objective, Coatimundis and Broad – Snouted Caimans have already been reintroduced to their natural habitats.

WAZA news 1/11

Membership

Recent Updates Membership Application

Nominated as corporate member

Torre Design Consortium, Ltd. A Professional Architecture Corporation, USA • Sponsors: • Ronald Foreman (Audubon Zoo) and Chuck Brady (Memphis Zoo) • Founded: 1980 • Membership: AZA, AIA (American Institute of Architects), FASLA (Fellow, American Society of Landscape Architects), FAAR (Society of Fellows, American Academy in Rome), APA (American Planning Association), IIDA (International Interior Design Association), AAM (American Association of Museums), USGBC (United States Green Building Council), LEED AP® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional). • President: L. Azeo Torre • Address: Torre Design Consortium, Ltd. A Professional Architecture Corporation 5005 Magazine Street 70115 New Orleans, LA, USA fon: +504 899-2932 fax: +504 897-5088 a.torre@t‑dcl.com Torre Design Consortium, Ltd. (a 25-plus year AZA member) has over 35 years of architecture, landscape architecture, exhibit, graphic and interior design experience throughout North America, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm has done extensive master plans for zoos, aquariums, and a broad range of other projects. The firm has garnered over 100 national state, and regional

To find out more: www.t-dcl.com

design awards for their work. Their designs extend from entry complexes to themed restaurants; aquariums to African savannas, rainforests to desert exhibits. Their experience is focused on a wide variety of building types, zoos and aquariums in many different styles, and designs the capture the history and richness of the environment and times. From conceptual master planning to detailed design, Torre Design pursues each project with a comprehensive approach that educates and enter-

tains while delineating the interconnectedness of all living things and our world. Their designs have led to many zoological facilities exceeding their regional population in annual attendance. With a proper balance between exhibit opportunities and visitor services needs, many of their zoos are operationally self‑sufficient and are the most popular and most attended of all regional attractions. Torre Design is dedicated to: “Bringing the World to your Zoo!”

WAZA news 1/11

Membership

Sumate Kamolnorranath – ZPO Thailand

Obituary Mr. Amnart Cholwattana in Memoriam The 3rd Director of Songkhla Zoo, Zoological Park Organization under the Royal Patronage H. M. the King (ZPO) Mr. Amnart Cholwattana was born on 16 December 1941, in Chonburi province, Thailand. He got a bachelor degree from Bangpra Agricultural College, Chonburi province, Thailand. In 1978, he started off as a Zoo Keeper at Khaow Kheaw Open Zoo before being promoted to a curator at Khaow Kheaw Open Zoo in 1981. From 1994–2001, he was a Head of Zoo Planning and Public Relations Division and was pioneer initiating Zoo Education of ZPO. In 2001, he was relocated to Dusit Zoo, Bangkok then to Nakorn Ratchasima Zoo in 2002 before taking Deputy Director position at Nakorn Ratchasima

Zoo in 2003. His last position during 2006-2010 was a Director of Songkhla Zoo. One of his initiated projects was establishment of internal audit for animal welfare and ethic of Songkhla Zoo. He passed away peacefully from heart failure in Germany on the way to attend the WAZA conference on 16 October 2010.

Group photo of participants at WAZA conference in Cologne, in front of the famous Cologne cathedral.

WAZA news 4/10 1/11 Membership

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WAZA news 1/11

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ISSN: 1662-7733