WOZA AFRICA to augment pan-African representation

PLEASE ENQUIRE ABOUT THE PAAZAB AFRICAN ZOO SPONSORSHIP PROGRAMME
Contact paazab@paazab.com

WOZA AFRICA

OBJECTIVE – to augment pan-African representation and active involvement within the Association in an equitable and sustainable manner

• A total of 53 nation states and island groupings fall within the geographical parameters that PAAZAB has defined in its constitution as falling within its ambit. This represents the largest single regional landmass grouping of any zoo/aquarium association in the world.
  
  
• PAAZAB currently represents 73 institutions in 12 African countries - South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Egypt.
  
  
• In 1993 PAAZAB initiated its Outreach Africa project, inviting and sponsoring senior zoo personnel from facilities in Central and North Africa in their attendance of PAAZAB annual general meetings held in South Africa.
  
  
• PAAZAB funds in addition to those from several US and European organizations, have since sponsored the following African zoos:
  
  1. Parc Zoologique d’Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
  2. Parc Zoologique de Kinshasa. DRC
  3. Parc Zoologique de Lubumbashi, DRC
  4. Blantyre Zoological Gardens, Malawi
  5. Parc Zoologique de Dakar, Senegal
  6. Parc Zoologique de Rabat, Morocco
  7. Parc de Belvedere, Tunisia
  8. Parc Zoologique d’Ivoloina, Madagascar
  9. Parc Zoologique et Botanique de Tsimbazaza, Madagascar
  10. Munda Wanga Zoo, Zambia
  11. Pandrillus Drill Sanctuary, Nigeria
  12. Biodiversity Preservation, Nigeria
  13. Limbe Wildlife Sanctuary, Cameroon
  14. Maputo Zoo, Mozambique
  15. Uganda Wildlife Education Centre, Uganda
  16. Giza Zoo, Egypt
  17. Addis Ababa Lion Zoo, Ethiopia
  18. Kumasi Zoological Gardens, Ghana
  19. Mvog Besti Zoo, Cameroon

• Several of these institutions, in fact, are exemplary in terms of their mission, facilities and standards of care, but many African zoos remain in serious need of financial resources, human resources, and technical assistance.
  
  
• In recognition of this problem, PAAZAB launched the WOZA Africa initiative in 2003. The initiative has tackled several important objectives:
  
  • Confirmation, identification and documentation of all known African zoos
  • Identification of facilities with obvious needs and capacity for improvement
  • Increased awareness of the PAAZAB network and its resources
  • Mobilization of those resources within the network.
    
    
    
• Over 2004/2010, PAAZAB representatives have visited 19 zoos in 15 countries:
  
  1. Parc Zoologique d’Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire
  2. Uganda Wildlife Education Centre, Uganda
  3. Parc Zoologique de Lubumbashi, DRC
  4. Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, Swaziland
  5. Makhaya Centre for Endangered Species, Swaziland
  6. Safari Walk, Kenya,
  7. Nairobi Animal Orphanage, Kenya
  8. Nairobi Snake Park Kenya.
  9. Lilongwe Wildlife Sanctuary, Malawi
  10. Chembe Aquarium, Malawi
  11. Parc Zoologique d’Ivoloina. Madagascar
  12. Parc Botanique et Zoologique de Tsimbazaza, Madagascar
  13. Audu Bako Zoo, Nigeria
  14. Rabat Zoo,  Morocco
  15. Dakar Zoo, Senegal
  16 Giza Zoo, Egypt
  17. Addis Ababa Lion Zoo, Ethiopia
  18. Kumasi Zoo, Ghana
  19. Mvog Besti Zoo, Cameroon
  
  
• The Association Executive Office is presently in communication with facilities in Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, Mali, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Republic of the Congo and Gabon, all of which have expressed interest in membership to PAAZAB.
  
  
• Future plans might include PAAZAB representatives conducting programs at these zoos providing veterinary services, capacity building, skill transfer at staff and managerial levels, and other professional assistance as required.
  
  
• Significant to this effort is the fact that visited zoos will thereafter, be included into the larger network as represented by PAAZAB and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
  
  
• By these efforts, PAAZAB seeks to:
  
  • forge partnerships within the African continent
  • to promote biodiversity conservation in line with the outcomes of the Convention of Biological Diversity and other activities of the United Nations Environment Programme,
  • to promote high standards of animal welfare, and
  • to encourage sustainable growth and development of communities using zoos as a key source of information on the consumptive and non-consumptive use of natural resources, in line with the primary objectives of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

CONTACT DETAILS

Dave Morgan
Executive Director
PO Box 754, Pretoria, 0001
South Africa

PAAZAB Executive Office,
National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, Boom Street,
Pretoria, South Africa

M: +27 (0) 82 893 4199
T: +27 (0) 12 3283265 x 242
F: +27(0) 12 3234540

E: info@paazab.com