By Tania Kahlon, The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Over 250 global conservation leaders joined the 79th WAZA Annual Conference at Taronga Zoo Sydney, held from 3 – 7 November 2024.
The theme for this year’s conference was Zoos and Aquariums 3.0: Transforming Zoos and Aquariums for 2050. This theme was the catalyst for generating insightful conversations with colleagues from across the globe, addressing urgent issues like habitat destruction, biosecurity, the rise of advanced technologies like AI, and species conservation especially against the background of the recently concluded CBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia.
Day one
On the first day of the WAZA conference 2024, both WAZA president, Karen Fifield, and Taronga Zoo CEO, Cameron Kerr, shared opening remarks. They welcomed the attendees to the conference and highlighted the need to adopt change in light of technological advancements especially with artificial intelligence influencing various aspects of operations as well as addressing urgent issues like habitat destruction, biosecurity, and species conservation.
The keynote address by Nardi Simpson shed light on the need for new approaches to conservation as well as better engagement with First Nations and how we can work with traditional custodians to learn from and protect our environments.
Highlighting the pivotal role of zoos and aquariums in addressing the decline of biodiversity, safeguarding endangered species and as crucial partners in achieving international goals for conservation, the Reverse the Red presentation showcased WAZA members who have signed the WAZA Declaration, reaffirming their commitment to advancing global conservation through collaborative, strategic, coordinated, and measurable actions aimed at halting extinctions, reversing declines, and also restoring populations.
Day two
Then, the second day of the WAZA conference saw the keynote address by Adam Spencer. Spencer continued the theme of AI and the potential ramifications of these cutting-edge technologies for zoos and aquariums. WAZA also signed an MOU with Wild Welfare, to foster and promote a shared commitment to improving welfare for animals in human care.
WAZA and Wild Welfare have a long history of working together. Going forward, they will focus on developing and implementing comprehensive animal welfare standards across WAZA’s membership and beyond.
The keynote speaker for day three was Nesha Ichida, an Indonesian marine conservation scientist, whose expertise includes the taxonomy of reef fish, research on elasmobranchs, marine protected areas (MPA), and community-led conservation programmes in Eastern Indonesia. Ichida manages the StAR Project. This is a multinational collaborative initiative to restore Indo-Pacific leopard shark populations by translocating egg cases bred at accredited aquariums worldwide.
During her keynote, Ichida discussed participation opportunities for zoos and aquariums. She also explored the past, present, and future of the ReShark initiative.
The day also saw the recognition of WAZA member associations that met the 2023 WAZA Animal Welfare Goal. Four Regional Associations, Associação de Zoológicos e a Aquários do Brasil (AZAB), the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), the Southeast Asian Zoos and Aquariums Association (SEAZA) and the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA) met the 23AWG this year.
The WAZA 2023 Animal Welfare Goal aims towards confirming that the Animal Welfare Evaluation Processes used by the WAZA member national and regional associations include specific principles of animal welfare, and thus, to see these principles consistently across WAZA’s global membership.
By working towards this strategic Goal, WAZA has also taken a significant step towards positioning itself as the global leader advancing Animal Welfare in zoos and aquariums.
Day three
On the final day of the WAZA 2024 conference, science communicator Tegan Taylor presented her keynote address. This discussed zoonotic disease biosecurity as well as how aquariums and zoos can prepare for future challenges.
The conference closed with the Gala Dinner and the awards presentation. Dr Jenny Gray, CEO of Zoos Victoria, won the prestigious Heini Hediger Award. Jenny has a background in management, transportation, engineering and ethics. This provides a unique set of skills to tackle the challenges of transforming the three zoos that comprise Zoos Victoria: Melbourne Zoo, Healesville Sanctuary and Werribee Open Range Zoo. Prior to her role at Zoos Victoria, Jenny was the CEO of Johannesburg Zoo.
Jenny served as WAZA President from 2016-2019. She has pioneered change in animal ethics, welfare and conservation, and played a crucial role in initiating Reverse the Red. She is a strong advocate of the role that zoos and aquariums can play in empowering visitors to take actions that help wildlife.
The Heini Hediger Award is the highest award for professional excellence, named in honour of Heini Hediger, the Swiss biologist known as the father of zoo biology. It represents the pioneering success of an individual with a strong commitment to animal welfare, conservation, environmental sustainability, education, and active involvement in furthering these causes within their zoo or aquarium and our global community.
Celebrating conservation
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland won the Conservation Award for Reintroduction of the Eurasian Beaver to Scotland.
The Programme’s scientific rigour, local conservation focus, and positive impact on legislation, research, education, and policy make it an example of effective conservation. During their decade of work, RZSS and the Scottish Wildlife Trust have worked together with government partners and a wide variety of stakeholders to achieve this milestone. This has seen RZSS take the lead on fieldwork, scientific research, veterinary care and animal handling, stakeholder engagement, and political lobbying.
RZSS led the return of this species which is now successfully established across Britain.
The two other finalists for the Conservation Award were Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP) and Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park’s Red Panda Conservation Breeding and Augmentation Programme in Singalila National Park and Neora Valley National Park in West Bengal.
The WAZA Conservation Award goes to an institution for an outstanding, comprehensive, specific conservation programme that has clear objectives and excellent conservation outcomes.
Advancing sustainability
The 2024 WAZA Environmental Sustainability Award went to Mandai Wildlife Group during the conference. This is the first zoological organisation to have its Net-Zero science-based targets validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). Mandai also focuses on showcasing best sustainable solutions to influence Singapore’s general public and business community.
The institution has a commitment to sourcing products sustainably with established criteria for over 20 product categories like RSPO (palm oil) and MSC/ASC (seafood). They also work with their supply chain to secure sustainable products, source locally, and reduce packaging used in deliveries. As a founding member of the Singapore Alliance on Sustainable Palm Oil (SASPO), the institution advocates for national and industry-wide transition towards sustainable palm oil.
The two other finalists for this prestigious award were Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and Toronto Zoo.
The WAZA Environmental Sustainability Award is granted to an institution for its outstanding, comprehensive environmental sustainability initiatives that advance its commitment and efforts towards environmental sustainability.
We thank everyone who contributed to the success of the conference – the host, Taronga Zoo and all attendees. We also look forward to the 80th WAZA Annual Conference in Cali, Colombia.
The post WAZA 2024: transforming the global zoo & aquarium community for 2050 appeared first on Blooloop.