Article 9 of the Convention on Biological diversity calls for Parties to support ex situ conservation, i.e conservation of genes, species, and ecosystems outside their natural limits. This is difficult with ecosystems but gene banks are well established in many parts of the world and species are often conserved in zoos, aquaria and botanic gardens. Zoos in the 21st Century is an excellent review of how zoos and aquaria may be able to contribute to conservation in the coming century. With over 10% of the world's population visiting zoos every year, they certainly provide an outstanding opportunity for educating the general public about species. Indeed, for many people, their only chance to see many of these species is in captivity.
Over the past several decades many zoos have become more like conservation parks, where the animals are displayed in as natural a setting as possible, even to the extent that the vegetation within their enclosure is appropriate to their natural habitat. This gives the visitors the feeling that they are sharing the experience of the natural lives of the species they are observing and, one hopes, gives the captive species a more satisfying life. And of course captive individuals receive professional medical care and a regular supply of food, making their captivity superior to life in the wild in at least some ways.
But what are zoos doing to help conserve species in the wild? This book provides many answers, ranging from supporting field research to financial support, training, and education of the public. While the authors are overwhelmingly from the USA and the UK, the book has global relevance and provides examples from many parts of the world.
The book is divided into three main sections: the challenge of changing human behaviour, dealing primarily with the role of zoos in contributing to a conservation ethic; establishing connections between zoos and the wild, covering topics such as reintroduction into the wild, research, and conservation medicine; and direct involvement of zoos in in situ conservation, with several chapters discussing how zoos are contributing to protected areas and other kinds of conservation, especially in the tropical countries where so many of the charismatic zoo species originate.
Several chapters indicate that zoos are themselves becoming conservation organizations, for example bringing the California condor, the Mauritius kestrel, the black-footed ferret, and the Guam rail back from extinction. Numerous zoos are also supporting conservation activities in various parts of the world, both with financial support and providing staff for training and other activities. The work that the Wildlife Conservation Society, based at the Bronx Zoo in New York, is doing is exemplary in this regard, especially in the field of zoonotic diseases (diseases that can be transmitted between humans and other animals). Given the progress that is reported from various parts of the world in this book, we can be confident that the zoos of the 21st century will continue to be popular with the public and will continue to expand their contributions to conservation in the wild. The detailed discussion of the current contribution of zoos, by Georgina Mace et al., indicates the directions in which zoos will need to move. The participation of so many of the world's zoos in the World Zoo Conservation Strategy, reported in the chapter by Matthew Hatchwell et al., indicates a coordinated effort by zoos in the field of conservation. But it also implies that a new version of this strategy is timely, as the previous version is now nearly 15 years old. Both zoos and field biologists have learned important lessons over the past decade or so on how to build stronger public support for field conservation. Let us hope that this book, and the activities it reports, will further accelerate conservation efforts throughout the world.
