Experts from 35 countries across the world started on Tuesday deliberation on various aspects of conservation of rare endangered and threatened species through involvment of the common visitors. They are attending the five-day 69th Conference of World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) Annual Conference in New Delhi .
Hosted by the Central Zoo Authority of India, the theme of the conference is ‘Biodiversity is Us’. The meet is being held in the country for the first time and was naugurated by Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday.
According to Gerald Dick, Executive Director of WAZA, “‘Biodiversity is Us’ is a project run by the association and its members around the globe. It aims to educate and inspire the visitors of zoo and aquarium across the world to take action in support of biodiversity.”
The meeting noted that nearly 700 million visitors visit the world’s 1,300 zoos and aquariums annually. Hence, they have a unique potential to attract, inspire and mobilise mass public engagement for species and habitat conservation.
The campaign will allow visitors to make a direct connection between people and wildlife. Zoos and aquariums educate the public on biodiversity conservation, human welfare, livelihoods. The project thus aims at harnessing this potential by engaging common man, said the participants.
The occassion amongst other issues discussed on various aspects of conservation of various endangered species including Asiatic lions, Cheer Pheasant in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday. Elephant-human conflicts and the welfare of captive elephant in Asia, Zoo Partnership With Traffic SE Asia in Combating Wildlife also figured prominently in the deliberations. The, conservation and breeding programme of the rare Red Panda in Darjeeling Zoo being carried out since more than the last two decades was however in the centre stage of discussion.
Deliberations will also take place on how zoos and aquariums can improve their role inside and outside their facilities. The meeting noted that India has already started some important initiatives of improvement and global strategies on conservation and animal welfare.
WAZA is a global organisation that unifies the community of global zoo and aquarium. It has more than 300 members involving zoos, aquariums, associations, affiliate organizations and corporate partners from around the world. WAZA defines the responsibilities of the world’s zoos and aquariums in regard to the conservation of global biodiversity.
