Maximising the contribution of zoos to global conservation policy
Chester Zoo scholars and scientists are increasingly carrying out research that supports us and other zoos to contribute to global conservation policy.
As well as providing evidence and expertise to support conservation lobbying efforts and inform broader scientific debate, the data, publications, techniques and tools produced by the Chester Zoo scientific community will play a part in meeting national and international conservation and environmental protection goals.
For instance, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) sets out 23 global targets to be met by 2030. Our work dovetails with many of these, including the urgent need to restore degraded ecosystems, making sure that illegal trade in species is reduced, enabling people to make sustainable choices, and to support the beneficial sharing of genetic resources and knowledge.
The Case Study: The cross-continental survey
The Problem:
The problem: There is a large body of evidence that suggests that blue and green spaces, and opportunities to connect with nature, are beneficial to human wellbeing. Although zoos are slowly being recognised within scientific literature as examples of green and blue spaces, the extent of their value is still under-studied
The Solution:
One of our current projects, which is being led by Conservation Scientist Bridget Johnson, along with Dr Andy Moss and colleagues from Nottingham Trent University, supports Target 12 of the GBF: Enhance Green Spaces and Urban Planning for Human Well-Being and Biodiversity.
The ambitious project involves carrying out a massive study of zoo guests to evaluate if and how zoo visits affect their sense of wellbeing and nature connection. This study, the largest of its kind to date, will be surveying visitors at zoos across the world. By the time it concludes, the researchers plan to have gathered responses from every inhabited continent.
The global survey project is longitudinal, collecting information about participants before, during and after their zoo visit. The data from these robust sampling techniques will provide a panoramic view of how an encounter with zoo spaces, which offer unique access to animal species and conservation messaging, affects visitor perceptions of their own wellbeing.
The concept of this sweeping study has already been received overwhelmingly positively when shared with the zoo community through a series of conferences, and the eventual findings will be presented with high-level, policy-shaping committees.