Looking ahead at the 2030 World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) Conservation Goal

The Two Oceans Aquarium’s Dr Judy Mann and Helen Lockhart recently attended a workshop in Seattle, United States, to discuss and develop the framework for the proposed 2030 World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) Conservation Goal.

The Seattle Aquarium hosted the workshop from 10 to 13 March 2025, bringing together 18 colleagues representing 16 organisations (zoos, aquaria, and regional associations) from 13 countries/regions.

What is the 2030 World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) Conservation Goal?

At the 79th Annual Conference in Sydney last year, WAZA members adopted a resolution committing the organisation and its members to the development of the WAZA 2030 Conservation Goal (2030 CG). This requires members to introduce processes for active contribution to halting extinctions, reversing declines, restoring populations, and securing a future for threatened species. Members also need systems to measure and report on these conservation activities.

Zoos and aquariums, many of which have conservation embedded in their vision and mission statements, are ideally positioned to make meaningful and impactful contributions to species’ conservation through ex-situ and in-situ conservation efforts. They are also uniquely placed to align these efforts with global initiatives such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

“The WAZA 2030 CG is an opportunity for zoos and aquariums to ‘walk the talk’ and be active players within the global conservation arena. We have the resources and the audiences to move the needle in a significant way and make a real difference in slowing biodiversity decline across the globe,” said Helen Lockhart, Conservation and Sustainability Manager for the Two Oceans Aquarium and Co-Chair of the WAZA Conservation Sub-Committee.

What was the purpose of the workshop?

The workshop was facilitated on behalf of WAZA by recently retired Dr Onnie Byers of the Conservation Planning Specialist Group. Dr Beyers led the group through a series of presentations, discussions, and activities aimed at achieving certain objectives. These included finding agreement on what constitutes conservation, the various activities to achieve conservation, and indicators to measure the impact of these.

The group also grappled with how to do this fairly and consistently across regions and started to consider what is needed to build capacity in regions which do not necessarily have the same resources as others.

“This was no mean feat, and it certainly gave me insight into why many of the global meetings, such as the COPs, struggle to meet consensus on various targets and commitments. However, while there remains much work to be done, we made good progress and our colleagues across the world are committed to developing a robust 2030 Conservation Goal. We will continue to meet virtually to build on what we’ve started, and we intend to present a draft framework of the goal for approval at the 80th Annual Conference in Cali, Colombia, in October this year,” enthused Helen.

What will the WAZA 2030 Conservation Goal mean for the Two Oceans Aquarium and our Foundation?

Our shared vision is abundant and healthy oceans for life. The Two Oceans Aquarium and Foundation have a conservation and sustainability strategy which is aligned with our vision and guides our activities. The strategy includes rescue, rehabilitation, and release of species (Turtle Conservation Centre); education and awareness raising (Ocean Campus, campaigns, and exhibit signage); offsite public engagement programmes (Trash Bash and Rocky Shore Explore); social impact and behaviour change initiatives (our work with the V&A Waterfront on sustainable seafood and our Ocean Champions); and partnering with communities and building an ocean community (Turtle Rescue Network and a new project “Connecting for Action – Creating an effective network for conservation action in False Bay” working together with Seas of Good Hope and Mission Blue).

While our work in the field is limited and we don’t support conservation programmes in the wild, we contribute to research through tagging and tracking animals we release from the Aquarium, including rehabilitated turtles and sharks and rays which have been housed at the Aquarium for several years.

The Aquarium and our Foundation are well-positioned to meet many of the requirements of the forthcoming WAZA 2030 Conservation Goal and as always, we welcome opportunities that challenge us to improve our operations, create new opportunities for partnerships and building community, introduce new and impactful behaviour change campaigns, and much more.

“While we often think about conservation in terms of nature, conservation is all about people. The WAZA 2030 Goal excites me as, for the first time WAZA is including the human dimensions of conservation. This means that our campaigns and behaviour change projects are perfectly aligned to support the goal,” said Dr Judy Mann, Executive of Strategic Projects at Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation.

The Two Oceans Aquarium is proud to be a WAZA member and to contribute to shaping the future of zoos and aquariums so that they can play a significant role in reducing the decline of biodiversity and protecting nature for nature and people. After all, that is ultimately why we exist.