A Zoo's Conservation Journey: Consumer to Contributor
This paper provides an emergent model of how zoos can positively and significantly contribute and integrate into the broader conservation community.
The World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strategy (WZACS), defines urgent global goals that all modern and progressive zoos and aquariums must advance to achieve their conservation objectives.
Auckland Zoo has embraced this urgent call for “integrated conservation”, forming strong alliances and associations with the wider education, scientific, zoo and conservation communities, local cultural and community groups, tourism, media and industry, to ensure integration of a wide array and depth of technical skills and resources to bear on the regional crisis of biodiversity loss.
The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (2005) states, “The WZACS gives zoos and aquariums the map with which to begin this journey, and although some may be further along the way than others, it is time for them all to change from a walk to a run’
This review aims to provide a blueprint for all zoos and the wider conservation community to find solutions for our regional conservation challenges.