We would like to share information from conservation projects as widely as possible. This part of our website will be updated regularly with other projects.
The Snow Leopard Conservancy
The Snow Leopard Conservancy is a non-profit organization based in Sonoma, California, formed in 2000, working in partnership with local communities in eight of the twelve snow leopard range countries to ensure snow leopard survival through environmental awareness programs and by promoting innovative stewardship practices. The Conservancy works with local partners and herder communities, the front line in preserving the biodiversity of Central Asia’s high mountains, by providing technical and financial assistance for activities linked to stewardship and biodiversity conservation. SLC’s programs build community ownership of projects, long-term self-reliance, and ecosystem health, involving communities in non-invasive baseline research on snow leopards, their prey and habitat, blending western science with indigenous knowledge.
Talarak Foundation, Inc
Talarak Foundation, Inc. is a rescue, sanctuary and an educational centre, housing various endemic animals of the Philippines. One of the highlights of the foundation are its successful captive breeding programs of endemic Negros and Panay Island species i.e. Rusa alfredi, Sus cebifrons, Rhabdotorrhinus waldeni, Penelopides panini and Gallicolumba keayi that we collectively call the West Visayan Big Five. The foundation currently has 2 captive breeding sites – Negros Forest Park and the Kabankalan Breeding Centre located at Bacolod City and Kabankalan City, respectively.
The mission of the foundation is the reintroduction of these animals back to the Negros forests, thus ongoing reforestation and in-situ work are also our projects. The continuous support and growth of our programs and projects will ensure our vision of reviving Negros’ biodiversity.
Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program
The Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (TKCP) is headquartered at Woodland Park in Seattle, USA, and delivered by TKCP’s partner in Papua New Guinea – TKCP-PNG. the locally-registered non-government organisation. The holistic program encompasses a broad range of habitats from marine and coastal ecosystems to montane rainforests and alpine grasslands; as well as settlements and agricultural areas belonging to more than 50 villages within the Yopno, Uruwa and Som (YUS) watersheds on the Huon Peninsula. In 2009, the PNG Government formally gazetted the 75,700ha Conservation Area, the first of its kind in PNG and part of the 162,000 ha YUS landscape. The area is home to hundreds of species, among them the Endangered Matschie’s Tree-kangaroo.
A core component of the Livelihoods Program is YUS Conservation Coffee. This is Zoos Victoria’s main focus in the partnership with the TKCP, as it delivers measurable benefits to both wildlife and people. The coffee is sold at Zoos Victoria, forming part of the Coffee for Wildlife community conservation campaign.
Port Moresby Nature Park
Covering 12ha on the outskirts of Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, the Port Moresby Nature Park is PNG’s premier zoo-based conservation, education and recreational facility. It is PNG’s only internationally-recognized wildlife park, fully accredited by the Zoo & Aquarium Association (Australasia). The Park welcomes 130,000 and has won the Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence for five consecutive years.
Zoos Victoria and the Nature Park established a sister zoo partnership in 2013, building on the recommendation for such collaborations in the WAZA 2005 world zoo and aquarium conservation strategy. At the heart of the partnership is sharing expertise, experience and passion of staff, focusing on agreed development priorities. Before the impacts of COVID-19, more than 30 staff had learning and training visits with their counterparts – from life science (keepers, veterinarians and animal training/conditioning), education, retail, environmental sustainability, horticulture, master planning and conservation and interpretation. With covid responses preventing travel between Australia and PNG since late 2019, experiences have continued remotely via meetings on Zoom and Teams. Face-to-face visits will hopefully resume in 2023.