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EAZA Annual Conference 2006


  Hosted by Zoo Aquarium Madrid, Spain from 3 to 7 October 2006
For the majority of the participants, the 23rd EAZA Annual Conference started in the evening of 3 October 2006 with the ice-breaker. The EAZA TAG Chairs and a number of the EEP Coordinators, however, already had their first meetings earlier that day. On 4 October, the Conference was officially opened. Jose Ignacio Cobo welcomed all participants on behalf of Zoo Aquarium Madrid. He was followed by Bert de Boer, EAZA Chair, who also gave a presentation on global sustainability and handed over a special EAZA Award for Professional Excellence to Koen Brouwer, for his work as former EAZA Executive Director.

After two conference days, a much-needed break in the full conference programme was offered Thursday evening, when all participants were taken to Madrid Zoo Aquarium. After the EAZA AGM on Saturday 7 October, seven EAZA Awards were handed out during the closing session of the conference.

Furthermore, Jose Ignacio Cobo handed over the ‘EAZA Annual Conference flag' to Jan Maciej Rembiszewski (see picture), representing next year's host, Zoo Warszawa (11 - 15 September 2007).

The 23rd EAZA Annual Conference was closed by a farewell dinner, kindly offered by Zoo Aquarium Madrid.

EAZA Conservation Campaigns

Closure Rhino Campaign
Chairman of the Rhino Campaign Core Group, Nick Lindsay (ZSL), started the closing session of the EAZA Save the Rhinos Campaign with a brief overview of the past year. An update of campaign projects was provided by Renaud Fulconis of Save the Rhino International. Furthermore, the Save the Rhinos Education Awards were handed out to Zoo Landau and Zoo d'Amiens (see picture)(winner and runner-up in the category non-rhino holding institutions) and Zoo Dvur-Kralove and Chester Zoo (winner and runner-up in the category rhino-holding institutions). A special campaign award was handed out to Zoo de la Boissière du Doré for their campaign activities. The eye-catcher of the closing session was the cheque handed over to Nick Lindsay, revealing the fantastic preliminary fundraising result of €515,842.81!

Launch Madagascar Campaign
After the closing of the
Rhino Campaign, the new EAZA conservation campaign was launched. Lesley Dickie and Alex Rübel launched the EAZA Madagascar Campaign 2006/7 "Arovako i Madagasikara" with colourful presentations about the island and its various habitats, national parks and wonderful flora and fauna. Special guest at the launch was Mr. Guy Suzon Ramangason (see picture), director general of ANGAP (Association Nationale pour la Gestion des Aires Protégées). He emphasized the need for conservation on Madagascar and welcomed the EAZA Madagascar Campaign. All EAZA member institutions are invited to join the EAZA Madagascar Campaign and help "Arovako i Madagasikara" (Conserve Madagascar)!

Future campaigns
EAZA Council selected the topics for the next two EAZA Conservation Campaigns. In 2007/8 the EAZA Conservation Campaign will focus on the Amphibian Crisis. The campaign will not be replacing the global Amphibian Ark and EAZA Amphibian Ark initiatives, but complement these. The campaign will be aimed at European zoos and aquaria and their visitors, but will focus on endangered amphibian species around the world.
The theme for the 2008/9 EAZA Conservation Campaign will be 'Europe'. The exact details still have to be decided upon in the coming year, but it can either be a 'Beautiful Europe' Campaign (focusing on habitat protection and ecological structures) or a 'European Carnivores' Campaign, or even a combination of these two.

EAZA Awards 2006

During the closing session on Saturday 7 October 2006, EAZA chairman Bert de Boer handed out 6 EAZA Awards in different categories:

EAZA Award for Professional Excellence
  • Esteve Tomas received an EAZA Award for Professional Excellence for his great job as former Barcelona Zoo director and former AIZA president. For example, he represented Barcelona Zoo in WAZA and had an important influence on the development of EAZA, due to his role as EAZA Council member and secretary of the EAZA Executive Committee.

    EAZA Research Award
  • The Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC) of the Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA) received an EAZA Research Award for performing research, in service of conservation (see picture). The central focus of their research strategy is sustainable population management.

    EAZA Conservation Award
  • Cologne Zoo received an EAZA Conservation Award for its project 'Biodiversity Conservation and Research in the Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park (Vietnam)'. This project supports Vietnamese authorities and scientists, enhances ranger work and engages in student training. Own field surveys led to the discovery of many new species, forming the basis for further conservation measures. Currently, the zoo constructs a rescue centre for confiscated animals, and reintroduces endangered primate species.

  • Zoo de Doué-la-Fontaine also received an EAZA Conservation Award. For the 40th anniversary of Zoo de Doué-la-Fontaine, Pierre Gay (chair EAZA Conservation Committee) decided that the institution should support 40 conservation programmes (one for each year the institution existed). Consequently, the institution is awarded for their global investment in in situ conservation and for organising the EAZA Conservation Forum every two year.

    EAZA Exhibit Award
  • Zoo de Doué-la-Fontaine also received an EAZA Exhibit Award for its black rhino facility, which differs from all other rhino facilities, as it is built on natural rock, it is spacious and very interesting technical solutions have been used.


    After these six EAZA Awards had been handed out, Eric Ruivo (EAZA Secretary) finally surprised the chairman by also awarding him with an EAZA Award:

    EAZA Education Award
  • GaiaPark Kerkrade Zoo was awarded with an EAZA Education Award for its entire educational oeuvre. This brand new zoo is the first zoo with one central theme: the Gaia theory, which views the Earth as a living planet. Visitors can choose four different expeditions, each with its own exciting adventures and encounters. For children of different ages special tours and educational materials have been developed and a special 'GaiaCamp' has been established. At this camping site, several educational activities are being organised.

    • Update from the EEP Committee

    The EEP Committee conducted no less than three different meetings during the EAZA Conference in Madrid.

    On Tuesday 3 October a meeting with the EAZA TAG chairs and a meeting with the EEP Coordinators was conducted. Particularly the recently initiated EEP Evaluation received ample attention. All EAZA TAGs will shortly have submitted their schedule for evaluating all EEP programmes over the coming years, and the first real evaluations will most likely already be conducted over the coming months. The relevant TAGs will be organising the evaluations and also report back to the EEP Committee about the outcomes. Should an evaluation highlight shortcomings in a particular EEP, the EEP Committee will then, together with the TAG and the EEP in question, decide on the best ways to assist the EEP to improve. Obviously, the vast majority of EEPs functions to everyone's satisfaction, so the EEP Committee expects to see mostly positive outcomes of the first evaluations.

    The EEP Committee meeting was held on Wednesday 4 October. One of the items on the table was the question of how to further encourage the "EEP spirit" among the entire EAZA membership. Some initial ideas were discussed, and an action plan will shortly be developed. You will certainly hear more about this in the near future.

    Membership news

    Following the recommendations of the EAZA Membership and Ethics Committee, seven membership applications were approved by EAZA Council:

    Bellewaerde Park in Belgium (Temporary Member for one year), Parc Merveilleux in Luxembourg (Temporary Member for one year), West Midland Safari Park in the United Kingdom (Temporary Member for one year), Jardin Zoologique de Ville de Lyon in France (Temporary Member for two years), Stichting AAP in the Netherlands (Associate Member), Stiftung Artenschutz in Germany (Associate Member), and Associacão Portuguesa de Zoos e Aquária (APZA) in Portugal (Associate Member).