CONSERVATION REVIEW 2016-17 CONSERVATION ZSL Conservation Review | 2016-17 Front cover: Apo Reef in the Philippines, by ZSL’s Kirsty Richards. Below: Teeming tuna exemplify CONTENTS the ocean biodiversity ZSL is working to protect Welcome 3 Introduction 4 ZSL’s mission targets 7 ZSL’s global impact 8 Mission targets Monitoring the planet 10 Saving threatened species 14 Protecting habitats 18 Engaging with business 22 Inspiring conservation action 24 Funding and partners What you helped us achieve 28 Conservation funders 30 Conservation partners 32 Governance 34 2 ZSL Conservation Review 2016-17 zsl.org WELCOME The President and Director General of ZSL (Zoological Society of London) introduce our Conservation Review of January 2016 to April 2017. s President of ZSL, it is my pleasure to present SL’s conservation work has continued to grow in 2016, the 2016-17 Conservation Review, highlighting supported by the passion and expertise of our people. our efforts around the world to ensure a future After launching our biggest conservation partnership for wildlife. to date last year in South Sumatra – the KELOLA This year has been a positive one for the Sendang Project, intended as a model for sustainable Society, with many achievements to be proud landscape management – work is well under way to of in the conservation of animals and their address the challenges of deforestation, peatland habitats. In Nepal, where ZSL has been working degradation, wildfires and human-wildlife conflict. with government and in-country partners for decades, we were Encompassing 206 villages, 42 agribusiness concessions and 37 priority honoured to receive two awards from the Nepalese Government in species, the project landscape – and the challenges – are huge, but the recognition of our contributions, including the gratifying 90% increase opportunity is there to secure a long-term future for many threatened inA tiger numbers in Parsa Wildlife Reserve since our involvement began Zspecies, as well as a sustainable livelihood for the communities involved. in 2014, and the recent construction of several guard posts. ZSL has also been active in the international policy arena. At the IUCN We are also privileged to have been able to support the Government World Conservation Congress, we worked with other NGO partners on of Chad, the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi and project leader the a range of successful habitat-protection resolutions, including for all Sahara Conservation Fund in the reintroduction of the only African categories of IUCN protected areas to be ‘no-go’ to environmentally mammal classed as Extinct in the Wild – the scimitar-horned oryx – damaging industrial activities, for conservation of primary forests and for to Chad. We are delighted to report that there have so far been five protection of 30% of the oceans by 2030. Meanwhile, at the Convention births in the wild, the first in more than 30 years. Desert ungulates such on International Trade in Endangered Species, we successfully as these have been a focus for ZSL since the 1980s, when we took on championed significant moves to improve protection for a range of management of the King Khalid Wildlife Research Centre in Saudi Arabia. species, including pangolins, sharks and rays, elephants, anguillid eels, The centre has seen some remarkable successes since then, including African grey parrots, helmeted hornbills and cheetahs. the reintroduction of two species of gazelle to the Uruq Bani Ma’arid Cheetah numbers have been greatly affected by human pressures protected area, and we were pleased to hand back the reins to the on their habitat and last year our scientists led the most comprehensive Saudi Wildlife Authority in 2016, having built a firm foundation to restore analysis of their status to date, showing that they now inhabit only 9% and safeguard wildlife in the country for years to come. of their historic range. ZSL is working with range state governments and Meanwhile, the Marine Reserves Coalition, led by ZSL, was delighted the cheetah conservation community to put in place a comprehensive to see the UK Government fulfil its pledge to designate 836,000km2 in the action plan across international boundaries to address the problems. waters of Pitcairn – a UK Overseas Territory (UKOT) – as a marine reserve, In 2016, ZSL London Zoo saw the launch of its largest-ever exhibit, and commit to a further three marine protected areas around UKOTs in Land of the Lions – home to a pride of Endangered Asiatic lions. The the South Atlantic by 2020. exhibit, designed to educate our visitors about the lions’ Indian heritage It is important to highlight these positive outcomes to the wider world and ZSL’s conservation efforts, provides a dynamic habitat for the animals, if we are to engage the public and inspire tomorrow’s conservationists. which are part of an international conservation breeding programme. In recognition of this, ZSL partnered with the University of Oxford and A key element of our work with the Gujarat Forest Department has the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust to host the first Conservation involved rolling out the conservation management tool SMART (Spatial Optimism Summit, where conservationists from across the world Monitoring and Reporting Tool) across the Gir Forest, and sharing gathered to share success stories. veterinary knowledge gained through caring for Asiatic lions in our Zoos. We still have some way to go to halt the downward trend of wildlife Finally, it is with sadness that I announce my retirement as Director populations, as illustrated in our Living Planet Report 2016, published General of ZSL. It has been an honour to serve such a vibrant jointly with the World Wide Fund for Nature. Among other shocking organisation for 13 years and to watch it grow from working in six statistics, this revealed that global vertebrate populations have declined countries to over 250 projects in more than 70 countries worldwide. It by 58% between 1970 and 2012. However, it is important to remember is the people who have enabled ZSL to grow as it has and I would like to how different the situation would be without the work of organisations thank everyone for making the work ZSL does possible. I look forward such as ZSL and its dedicated people. to seeing the undoubtedly amazing developments that are yet to come. Professor Sir John Beddington CMG, FRS Ralph Armond President, Zoological Society of London Director General, Zoological Society of London zsl.org ZSL Conservation Review 2016-17 3 DIRECTOR’S INTRODUCTION Introduction Matthew Hatchwell, Director of Conservation at ZSL, outlines some of our key impacts on global wildlife conservation. s the new ZSL Director of Report, which reflects the status of 14,152 Conservation, joining in June 2017, populations of 3,706 species worldwide. I would like to begin by thanking Shockingly, the 2016 report showed a 58% myA predecessor, Professor Jonathan Baillie, decline in those populations between 1970 for the remarkable set of initiatives that he and 2012. A key challenge now is to make established during his 10 years as director. sure that the LPI doesn’t simply chronicle Jonathan’s vision and leadership underlie the demise of wildlife on Earth, but actually many of the conservation achievements and helps us design smarter and more effective innovative approaches described here, and strategies and programmes – both in policy we wish him every success in his new role as arenas and on the ground – to reverse Chief Scientist and Senior Vice President for these declines. We also, of course, monitor Grants at the National Geographic Society the status of key species and habitats in the USA. I would also like to thank all the wherever we work. For example, we are staff at ZSL: everyone across the Society helping to restore our own local aquatic – whether engaged directly in ecosystem – the Thames Estuary conservation, research and – by monitoring eels and public engagement, or other species, as well as working in the essential water quality, in the support systems that river and its tributaries underpin all of our interweaving the fabric mission work – is an of London (see pages important contributor 20 and 23). to every ZSL conservation success. Saving ZSL is truly unique in threatened the range of skills we can species access for the conservation ZSL’s species-focused of species and their habitats. programmes around the Our conservation toolkit includes two world have a dual strategic world-class Zoos, which not only enable us emphasis. We focus not only on wide-ranging to connect millions of visitors directly with ‘umbrella’ species such as tigers, lions, rhinos nature, but also help us deploy vital expertise and elephants, whose conservation brings in conservation breeding and veterinary benefits to countless thousands of other care. Similarly, our top-flight conservation species that share their habitats, but also science is a crucial factor underpinning many on important but neglected species, under of our achievements in the field, and makes the framework of the EDGE of Existence us key players in tracking global trends in programme. The latter’s emphasis on biodiversity. These special skills, combined animals that are both Evolutionarily Distinct with the innovative and diverse nature of and Globally Endangered (see page 13) our conservation initiatives, position ZSL provides a unique mechanism for prioritising uniquely for success. species conservation programmes, and for identifying ‘EDGE Zones’ where Monitoring the planet concentrating our activities could maximise ZSL has played a key role in supporting the their effectiveness. IUCN (International Union for Conservation Meanwhile, our specialist skills in of Nature) Red List analysis of the wildlife health and conservation breeding conservation status of wildlife since 1994. are making important contributions to the This support continues, and we also partner conservation of mountain chicken frogs, with WWF to compile the Living Planet Index Greek killifish and Partula snails, among (LPI) and produce the biennial Living Planet others (see pages 14-16).