The global reach of zoos and aquariums in visitor numbers and conservation expenditures

A survey conducted by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, in collaboration with national and regional zoo and aquarium associations, showed that annually more than 700 million people visit zoos and aquariums worldwide and are thus potentially exposed to environmental education. Furthermore, the world zoo and aquarium community reportedly spends about US$ 350 million on wildlife conservation each year. Therefore, the world zoo and aquarium community has the potential to play an important role in both environmental education and wildlife conservation. Systematic reviews are encouraged to provide further evidence for the effectiveness of zoos and aquariums as centers of education and conservation.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ex situ</Emphasis> conservation programmes in European zoological gardens: Can we afford to lose them?

The role of ex situ activities for the conservation of biodiversity, and of zoos and aquaria in particular, is open to continuing debate. The present note highlights the conservation breeding potential of zoological gardens and aquaria in the European union, but it also recognises the lack of a convincing scientific and legal framework that encourages ex situ activities for ‘exotic’ species. If ex situ programmes are considered essential for global biodiversity conservation, the EU should not limit itself to regulating zoos through the zoo directive, but should actively promote and support their ex situ conservation activities.     

Research in zoos: a growth area in conservation

Despite early menageries being the source of much useful biological information on anatomy and taxonomy, it is only more recently that the potential for research in zoos has been recongnized. Collections of captive animals are unique and irreplaceable resources for conservation; but without research in zoological parks, progress in conservation science would diminish. There is a flow of information from zoo researchers to field scientists that assists in providing new insights into species biology. Reciprocally, data collected in the field enhance efforts in captive breeding. This paper summarizes the new research initiatives undertaken in zoos, e.g., in the fields of reproductive and genetic technologies, and highlights their significance for conservation and management of threatened species. It is evident that zoo research has a vital role in linking in situ and ex situ conservation. This role needs to be expanded and developed to meet the challenge posed by expanding human and declining wildlife populations and ecosystems.     

Ecological Diversity and Biodiversity as Concepts for Conservation Planning: Comments on Ricotta

Ricotta argues against the existence of a unique measure of biodiversity by pointing out that no known measure of α-diversity satisfies all the adequacy conditions that have traditionally been set for it. While that technical claim is correct, it is not relevant in the context of defining biodiversity which is most usefully measured by β-diversity. The concept of complementarity provides a closely related family of measures of biodiversity which can be used for systematic conservation planning. Moreover, these measures cannot be replaced by summary statistics but must rely on inventories of biodiversity surrogates at candidate sites for conservation.     

Poor historical data drive conservation complacency: The case of mammal decline in south‐eastern Australian forests

Forested ecosystems of south‐eastern Australia now differ physically, compositionally and functionally from their condition prior to European settlement. Understanding these changes, and how native species and entire ecosystems have responded, is crucial for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management. Here I argue that a combination of limited historical information and a knowledge base biased towards modern ecological studies has resulted in a distorted perception of ecosystem condition, hindering the instigation of effective biodiversity conservation measures. This argument is based on recently obtained information about changes to the non‐volant mammal community, which reveals relatively recent but underreported ecological changes, including major declines in species distribution and abundance, shifts in niche utilization and associated disruption of ecosystem functions. Ultimately, many mammal species are being denied the capacity to function to the extent they did historically. Following this re‐assessment, it is evident that current forest management does not adequately address contemporary conservation dilemmas posed by detrimental ecosystem changes. This is especially salient when most of the factors responsible for causing changes to the mammal community are still active and include forest management and utilization activities. Therefore, additional conservation measures are essential to meet forest stewardship and biodiversity conservation obligations. For the health, functionality and sustainability of forested ecosystems, native mammal species must be capable of functioning to their ecological potential and occupy their original niche. This will be facilitated by the suppression of threatening processes (primarily exotic species), ensuring ecologically sensitive fire regimes and the reintroduction/translocation of missing species. The recovery or restoration of forest functionality based on mammal conservation should have wide‐scale benefits for biodiversity conservation.     

Visitor Perceptions of Nature Conservation at Helsinki Zoo

These days zoos often claim that their main objective is the promotion of nature conservation and that they strive to educate their visitors about animals and nature conservation. But how do zoo visitors themselves perceive this emphasis on conservation education? In order to determine how Helsinki Zoo visitors perceive nature conservation during their visit, we undertook a qualitative analysis of 75 structured situational interviews and five autoethnographical visits. Our results show that there was only a limited understanding of nature conservation among the zoo visitors. Their perception follows the typical framing of nature conservation in zoos: conservation projects that embrace captive breeding, in-situ conservation collaboration, and the reintroduction of those species. Moreover, in the Helsinki Zoo case these perceptions may have been influenced by the fact that the zoo did not give concrete advice on how the visitors themselves can contribute to conservation, except in terms of donating money. Framing nature conservation in such ways distances it from visitors’ everyday lives.     

Towards sustainable land use: identifying and managing the conflicts between human activities and biodiversity conservation in Europe

Conflicts between biodiversity conservation and human activities are becoming increasingly apparent in all European landscapes. The intensification of agricultural and silvicultural practices, land abandonment and other land uses such as recreation and hunting are all potential threats to biodiversity that can lead to conflicts between stakeholder livelihoods and biodiversity conservation. To address the global decline in biodiversity there is, therefore, a need to identify the drivers responsible for conflicts between human activities and the conservation of European biodiversity and to promote the management of these conflicts. Here, the drivers of biodiversity conflicts are analysed in a European context for five habitat types: agricultural landscapes, forests, grasslands, uplands and freshwater habitats. A multi- disciplinary approach to conflict management is described, with active stakeholder involvement at every stage of conflict identification and management as well as a range of other approaches including stakeholder dialogue and education, consumer education, improvement of political and legislative frameworks, financial incentives, and planning infrastructure.     

Remodeling the Fortress of Conservation? Living Landscapes and the New Technologies of Environmental Governance

This essay reflects on paradigm shifts in environmental conservation, to examine elements of the ‘fortress conservation' model that still persist in the context of more participatory approaches. Presenting a case study on Sardinia, an Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea, it considers how existing practices for the protection of natural landscapes and biodiversity are ambivalently shaped by both institutional mandates and informal collaborations. Exploring how these are further reconfigured by the implementation of new information and communication systems, it questions implications for autochthonous visions of landscape. It argues that an engaged anthropology of the environment should critically assess how emerging strategies for generating potent expert knowledge about nature also generate issues of inclusion and exclusion.     

Reactions of zoo visitors to free-ranging monkeys

This study assessed the potential of two types of primate exhibit both for enhancing zoo visitors' interest, knowledge, and enjoyment and for promoting conservation education. Visitors' reactions to a free-ranging group of cotton-top tamarins were compared with their responses to caged tamarins in three ways: 1) timing how long visitors spent at each exhibit, 2) recording the comments made by visitors about the exhibits, and 3) asking visitors to respond to questionnaires about the two exhibits. The results showed that the free-ranging group of tamarins provoked wider comment from members of the public than caged groups and that visitors were willing to spend much more time looking for and watching monkeys in trees than monkeys in cages. Visitors felt that improvements in the animals' welfare were obtained from allowing them to live free in the trees, thought that they could learn more from such groups than from caged animals, and enjoyed seeing the free-ranging tamarins more than the monkeys in cages. These results suggest that developing more naturalistic zoo exhibits can have considerable benefits not only for the animals involved, but also for public education in conservation issues. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Conservation medicine and One Health in zoos: Scope,obstacles, and unrecognized potential

Zoo veterinarians and allied professionals have been contributing to conservation medicine (CM) and One Health (OH) activities for more than two decades. Although the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) considers conservation a key part of its mission, little published material exists about the extent of AZA work in CM/OH or the challenges and opportunities associated with these endeavors. To better understand the current scope of CM/OH in zoos, we surveyed 53 AZA‐accredited institutions from April through October of 2016. We obtained information on CM/OH infrastructure, support for expansion in this area, and strategies to overcome perceived obstacles hindering CM/OH from becoming a core AZA activity. Survey results revealed that while most zoos favor greater investment in CM/OH programs, awareness, and understanding of CM/OH across the broader zoo community and public is lacking. The majority of respondents stated that overcoming this challenge is paramount to attaining support for CM/OH initiatives. In spite of these obstacles, survey respondents highlighted many positive developments in CM/OH. We found that 84% of zoos surveyed are actively engaged in CM/OH activities, and 12% house formal CM/OH programs. Another 8% of respondents said their institutions were developing CM/OH programs. Perhaps most noteworthy, we found that zoo size did not have a significant bearing on the financial amount allocated toward an institution's CM/OH activities. This suggests that all zoos, regardless of size, can make meaningful contributions to the growing movement of CM/OH and help redefine the role of zoos within this movement.     

The Changing Roles of Zoological Parks in Conserving Biological Diversity

SYNOPSIS. Zoological parks are evolving institutions in respectto the conservation of biological diversity. From past functionsin recreation as menageries and in education as living museums,they are coming to discharge these functions, plus other meaningfulones in research and conservation, as internationally orientedconservation centers. Education is the primary function in conservation,but zoos have begun to make significant contributions as geneticrefuges and reservoirs, especially for large vertebrate speciesthreatened with extinction. In developing this capacity zooshave fostered investigations into several facets of small populationbiology. These have extended to simulation modelling to helppredict the outcome of various combinations of ecological, genetic,and demographic factors on the viability of populations in captivityand in the wild. Because resources of zoos are limited in respectto their enlarged functions in conservation and research, theyare encouraging development of criteria to help prioritize actionsfor conservation of biodiversity. North American, European,and Australian zoos are meanwhile assisting the developmentof technical capacities among zoo counterparts, government agencies,and protected areas in both developing and developed countriesof the world to further the conservation of biodiversity. Similarinvolvement by other biological institutions and by biologicalprofessional associations can make important contributions topolicies of nations and actions of people that determine theprospects for survival of much of the biota.     

Charisma and conservation: charismatic megafauna’s influence on safari and zoo tourists’ pro-conservation behaviors

Annually, millions of tourists go on safari and visit zoos primarily to view large charismatic wildlife. These venues rely on the inherent appeal of these animals to increase visitation and anchor conservation efforts. In conservation campaigns, flagship species are used to stimulate a connection to a species and promote pro-conservation behaviors. However, empirical support for behavioral outcomes associated with flagships is lacking. Nor is it known how a connection to a species influences behaviors. This study explored (a) how tourists connect to wildlife, how this relationship is influenced by the on-site experience, and how these factors interact to influence behavior, and (b) how the experiences between safari and zoo venues differed. A model was developed using interactional theory and analyzed with structural equation modeling. Data were obtained from 416 tourists to Tanzanian parks and protected areas and 452 tourists to two U.S. zoos and one aquarium. An existing connection to wildlife and experiential factors directly influenced tourists’ connection to a species, but not behaviors. Tourists’ connection to a species had a significant positive influence on pro-conservation behaviors for individual species and general biodiversity. The influence of the experience was equivalent across safari and zoo venues. Results support the ability of safari and zoo wildlife tourism to produce conservation outcomes.     

It's a sign: Animal welfare and zoo type are predictors of animal identification signage usage and quality at zoo exhibits

Conservation education programs are listed as priority actions for almost every threatened species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. Zoos play an important role in delivering such programs, yet evidence of zoo education in many non-western countries is limited. Here, we evaluate animal identification signage prevalence and quality at zoo exhibits and investigate whether animal welfare, zoo type (accredited, government, and private), admission fee, zoo size, and proximity to urban centers are influencing factors. We used hornbills (Bucerotidae) as a model taxon, surveyed hornbill signage, and conducted welfare assessments of hornbill exhibits. We developed scoring frameworks and applied content analysis to analyze signage quality. Our results show that out of 18 zoos that displayed hornbills, 15 had hornbill signage. However, of the 106 hornbill exhibits in these zoos, 33% had no signage. We also found that signage presence or absence at individual zoos and signage quality is strongly correlated with animal welfare quality. Zoo type is a key factor in predicting signage and welfare quality, with accredited zoos scoring highest for both signage and welfare, followed by government and private zoos. Private zoos charged higher admission than other zoo types, and zoo size and proximity to urban centers did not influence signage or welfare scores. Overall, we conclude that in our study, signage usage and quality are inadequate, highlighting the importance of compliance with robust zoo standards to improve education and welfare within zoos to support global conservation goals.     

The Role of Zoos in Modern Society—A Comparison of Zoos' Reported Priorities and What Visitors Believe They Should Be

Modern zoos are required to fulfill a growing number of responsibilities including scientific research, wildlife conservation, public recreation, and education. With so many roles and responsibilities and limited funds, zoos have to prioritize their activities in relation to their own specified goals, objectives, and mission statements. Given their desire to nurture community relations and educational opportunities, it is important to determine the extent to which zoos are prioritizing their activities, according to visitors' expectations. This paper presents empirical research of a two staged mixed-methods investigation into zoo priorities from both zoos' and visitors' perspectives. The first stage involved an online questionnaire to which more than 190 zoos across 52 countries reported their priorities and activities. We then undertook in-depth case studies in nine institutions, enabling direct observation of each site within its context, including face-to-face visitor interviews. Our research contrasts the priority given to zoo activities from each perspective and indicates that educating visitors, including school children, is the highest priority activity from the zoos' perspective and that of their visitors. The findings also show that visitors place high value on learning about actions they can take to help conservation efforts. Some inconsistencies between zoos' and visitors' priorities were also evident, such as the different emphasis placed on viewing endemic species, and zoos being a place for people to relax and socialize. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Institutions and incentives for biodiversity conservation

Incentive measures for biodiversity conservation cannot be evaluated and compared outside the context of institutional performance and relationships. The institutional framework for biodiversity incentives includes a variety of organizations operating on different spatial scales. The institutional actors with an impact on biodiversity include community groups, local and national governmental structures, NGOs, business enterprises and international organizations. But the positve influence of conservation-oriented organizations is often significantly outweighed by the negative influence of other sets of institutional actors who are largely unaware of biodiversity as a concept and not unduly concerned with its conservation. There are several options for improving the institutional framework for biodiversity incentives: (1) decentralization of resource management decision making to local levels; (2) engaging and reorienting government institutions; (3) establishing new national and international institutions; and (4) establishing functional linkages between key institutional actors. The role of local, national and international institutions in designing and implementing effective incentive measures for biodiversity conservation will be critical. But the dynamics within and between institutional actors influencing biodiversity conservation are complex, variable and insufficiently understood, somewhat like biodiversity itself.     

The gap in technology for visitor experience in a zoo: A case study in Indonesia

Technology has routinely been used in zoos to enhance the visitor experience, for public education and for conservation awareness. However, studies into technology-aided exhibits in zoos have thus far been limited to zoos in western society. This article reports on an Indonesian zoo deploying new technology in its exhibits and how visitors interacted with these exhibits. A case study guided both an investigation of the visitors' technology usage of zoo exhibits and zoo implementation of technological processes. Interviews with visitors, zoo staff, and managers were conducted and analyzed and these were supplemented with on-site observations. The results indicated that the majority of zoo visitors did not use the technological applications provided by the zoo. In addition, there was found to be a significant lack of staff engagement in the consultation, design, implementation, and maintenance of the technology. Correlations were found between visitors' level of technology usage, their reading of signage, their day-to-day technology usage, and their conservation knowledge. The findings suggest that an understanding of visitor' behavior, active staff engagement in the development and implementation of new technology, in addition to emotion-inducing interpretation, and purposefully guided interactions, could increase the use of technology at a zoo and thus enhance positive visitor engagement, ultimately resulting in heightened educational as well as conservational outcomes.     

The complexity of the conservation-development nexus in Central African national parks and the perceptions of local populations

Conservation programmes of recent decades aimed to adopt an approach that addresses biodiversity conservation goals through socio-economic tools and to better integrate the human dimension into biodiversity conservation. Yet, to analyse this complex conservation-development nexus, studying conservation perceptions of local populations are crucial to understand the dynamics and establish sound conservation-development management policies. Therefore, we aim to identify the key determinants of conservation perceptions in the Central African context in order to implement successful local and regional conservation strategies. Conservation perceptions of two national parks’ adjacent populations were examined through household surveys, adapted from the Poverty-Environment Network (PEN), in Rwanda and Republic of Congo. Outcomes were statistically analysed to identify the most important factors affecting perceptions about conservation measures. Using a nonlinear canonical correlation analysis, we found that economic factors (e.g. salary, savings, cattle size) and education positively affect conservation perceptions while ecosystem-dependent factors such as hunting and gathering other non-timber forest products have negative effects. Though, we identified a significant difference between two sites, whereby, conservation perceptions are negatively affected by bushmeat factors in Republic of Congo, and NTFP in Rwanda. In addition, our study showed that resource use and rights play a major role in communities’ perceptions and that revenue-sharing projects have a key impact on the perceptions. To ensure sound conservation and development measures, revenue-sharing schemes focusing on material benefits and alternative livelihoods may provide the best approach if participation of communities in the decision-making process is ensured. In this optic, improving education levels will raise awareness and positive perceptions of conservation measures. Development measures should target poor households as they appear to be more conservation-adverse. We conclude that in depth research on local demands for ecosystem products, relationships among stakeholders and community decision power are crucial factors to understand the complexity of the conservation-development nexus.     

Comprehensive criteria for biodiversity evaluation in conservation planning

In this paper we present the results of a multi-criteria decision analysis used to identify a comprehensive set of criteria for assigning biodiversity value to sites for conservation planning. For effective conservation management, biodiversity value needs to be a composite of biotic and abiotic factors. However, in the reserve design literature, conservation value is assigned with a limited set of metrics usually based on comprehensiveness, representativeness and persistence which may be insufficient at fully capturing biodiversity value. A group of conservation specialists in California, USA, used a multi-criteria decision making framework to elucidate and weight criteria for scoring biodiversity value at sites. A formal model for consensus and negotiation was applied to aggregate individuals’ criteria weights across all group members. The group identified ecological condition, followed by biotic composition as the most important contributors to site conservation value. Long- and short-term threats causing fragmentation and degradation are also important criteria to consider. Key criteria are identified for which further data collection would serve the greatest purpose in prioritizing sites and the role of prioritization criteria in the larger context of systematic conservation planning is discussed. With the recognition that biodiversity value plays an important role in conservation decisions, the criteria presented here represents a comprehensive suite of factors to consider when assigning biodiversity value to sites for conservation planning. These can serve as an encompassing list which other groups can customize for the purpose of biodiversity evaluation for alternative conservation planning contexts.     

Measuring the extent and effectiveness of protected areas as an indicator for meeting global biodiversity targets

There are now over 100000 protected areas worldwide, covering over 12% of the Earth's land surface. These areas represent one of the most significant human resource use allocations on the planet. The importance of protected areas is reflected in their widely accepted role as an indicator for global targets and environmental assessments. However, measuring the number and extent of protected areas only provides a unidimensional indicator of political commitment to biodiversity conservation. Data on the geographic location and spatial extent of protected areas will not provide information on a key determinant for meeting global biodiversity targets: 'effectiveness' in conserving biodiversity. Although tools are being devised to assess management effectiveness, there is no globally accepted metric. Nevertheless, the numerical, spatial and geographic attributes of protected areas can be further enhanced by investigation of the biodiversity coverage of these protected areas, using species, habitats or biogeographic classifications. This paper reviews the current global extent of protected areas in terms of geopolitical and habitat coverage, and considers their value as a global indicator of conservation action or response. The paper discusses the role of the World Database on Protected Areas and collection and quality control issues, and identifies areas for improvement, including how conservation effectiveness indicators may be included in the database to improve the value of protected areas data as an indicator for meeting global biodiversity targets.