Antwerp, 20 September 2008

During the 25th conference of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), which took place in Antwerp Zoo, Belgium, from 16 to 20 September 2008, all EAZA member institutions were invited to sign the Countdown 2010 Declaration. By doing so, they acknowledge the threat of current biodiversity loss and promise to take any practical opportunity to stop it. EAZA reconfirmed the important role they play in conservation and education and the value of partnerships with nature conservation organizations.

Signing the Countdown 2010 Declaration was linked to the launch of the EAZA European Carnivore Campaign. This campaign runs from September 2008 to September 2009, focusing on the importance of Europe’s biodiversity and in particular its large carnivores. ECNC has a seat in the campaign planning group.

About 630 people from the 'zoo world' gathered in Antwerp, participating in the EAZA Annual Conference. There were many interesting sessions and meetings during the conference and special focus on the impact of climate change on biodiversity and the role of zoos and aquariums mitigating these.

Zoos and aquaria are vital partners in halting the loss of biodiversity. They reach hundreds of millions of people all over the world. Education - explaining the irreplaceable value of the entire biological system of the planet and all of its constituent components - is a powerful tool in raising the level of general awareness, thereby influencing people's attitudes and behaviour towards biodiversity, local and global. Next to that, zoos and aquaria conserve and breed species threatened with extinction. And they run and support an increasing number of in situ conservation and education projects.

EAZA already signed the Declaration, after which many zoos followed. EAZA stimulates its members to sign individually, thereby showing their commitment to conservation of biodiversity.

For more information, you can contact Martijn Los, EAZA, martijn.los@eaza.net or Hanneke Wijnja, ECNC, wijnja@ecnc.org. You can also visit the website www.carnivorecampaign.eu or www.ecnc.org.