6th Annual SEAZA Conference Communiqué

 22-25 October, 1996 (Malaysia)
  1. The Sixth Annual Conference of SEAZA was hosted by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia, Zoo Melaka, the Melaka State Government and the Malaysian Association of Zoological parks And Aquaria (MAZPA). The conference was officially opened at Perdana Ballroom, Malacca Village Paradise Resort, Melaka on 22 October 1996 at 10.00 am by the Honorable Datuk Law Hieng Ding, Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment, Malaysia in the presence of SEAZA president D. Ashari, the members of the SEAZA Executive Board, delegates and guests. The conference was attended by 140 delegates representing the following 16 countries and territories: Australia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Netherlands, Laos, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, United States of America, United Kingdom and Vietnam. The president of SEAZA welcomed all the participants and he extended special greetings to the Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks Association (ARAZPA), the Conservation Breeding Specialists Group (CBSG) and the World Pheasant Association (WPA). On behalf of all SEAZA members, President Ashari thanked Melaka Zoo for hosting this conference, and he thanked the Organizing Committee for their diligence in making all the conference arrangements.

  2. Mr. Abd. Rashid Samsudin, the Deputy Director General of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia, represented the Director General for the opening ceremony. He thanked the Honorable Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment Malaysia for attending the opening ceremony in spite of the tight schedule. He congratulated the Organizing Committee for a well-organized conference and expressed his hope that the conference would be fruitful and successful. He urged all organizations that have not joined SEAZA yet, to do so to strengthen co-operation among zoos in the region. He said that an ever increasing pressure on land during the last decade had resulted in loss of habitat that caused several wildlife species to become endangered. This has resulted in zoos having to play a more important and proactive role in ex-situ conservation.

  3. In his opening remarks, president Ashari emphasized that South East Asian countries are rich in biodiversity, and that they are important sources of animals for zoos and aquaria the world over. South-East Asia's extraordinary biodiversity is maintained by the regional variety of life support systems, or ecosystems which include lowland and montane rain forests, oceans and lakes, coral reefs and cave systems, small and large rivers, fresh and brackish water swamps, grasslands and alpine glaciers. Diversity of life was also promoted by the formation of thousands of islands isolated from one another for ages, distributed over an area of 24 million sq. hectares, of which 70% is covered by water. Unfortunately, much of this diversity is endangered by growth and activities of human populations. An international collective effort is needed to arrest the destruction of forests, coastal habitats and coral reefs. SEAZA's guiding principle is to promote regional solidarity among zoological institutions of South-East Asia. SEAZA zoos can assist one another to understand and learn modern zoo management This increased co-operation, which is already underway among SEAZA zoos, will lead to unity and better run zoos throughout South-East Asia. A unifying mission of SEAZA members is public education and environmental conservation. President Asharl announced that Dr. Steven Leatherwood, Chairman of the Membership Committee sent his apologies for not being able to attend the SEAZA Conference in Melaka and conveyed his best wishes to the delegates. A similar message was received from Mr. E.J. McAlister, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Adelaide Zoo and President of ARAZPA.

  4. The opening speech delivered by the Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment Malaysia, emphasized that the role of zoological parks has changed tremendously over the years. From the early days when providing recreation for visitors was their main aim, zoos have shifted to their modern emphasis on ex-situ conservation. The shift was due to the fact that survival of most animal species in the wild is threatened, especially by the pressures resulting from human development of natural areas. Therefore, the role of zoological parks as conservation institutions is becoming more prominent. Zoo education programs also contribute to disseminating conservation messages to visitors. The Minister believes that these efforts should be maintained and where necessary enhanced for the benefit of future generations.

  5. The conference theme was "Zoos Into The 21st Century".

  6. During the scientific sessions, 27 scientific papers were presented covering the topics of Conservation Breeding, Zoo Exhibit Design and Husbandry

  7. On behalf of SEAZA, President Ashari congratulated Dr. Ulysses Seal on his reappointment as Chairman of the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG). The CBSG Chairman briefed the conference on the latest developments and activities of the Group during the year 1996.

  8. SSC Tiger Co-ordinator Dr. Ronald Tilson organized a workshop on Indo Chinese Tigers (Panthera tigris corbetti ), attended by representatives of the range countries in the region.

  9. The agenda for the General Assembly sessions covered the following: the President of SEAZA report, financial report by the SEAZA Secretary, Constitution and Bylaws Committee report, Membership Committee report and Professional Standards Committee report.

  10. The Sixth SEAZA General Assembly adopted the resolution "Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine and Coastal Biological Diversity through education and implementation of safe methods for collecting live specimens of marine mammals, fish and invertebrates".

  11. Six amendments to the Bylaws were adopted on 24 October 1996. Among them was an amendment to Article 1, Section 1 that increased the size of the Executive Board from five to nine. The New Board Members are the Immediate Past President and the Chairs of the three standing committees.

  12. The President disclosed that SEAZA would have suffered a budget deficit if not for support from the Government of Indonesia and the Indonesian Wildlife Fund (IWF).

  13. Certificates of attendance were issued to conference participants.

  14. Certificates of Appreciation were issued to selected parties and sponsoring institutions.

  15. The venue of the Seventh SEAZA Annual conference was confirmed to be Singapore. Bernard Harrison extended an invitation to all delegates to attend. The conference date is tentatively set for 14 - 17 October 1997.

  16. On 24 October 1996 the General Assembly elected Bernard Harrison as President for the term 1996 to 1999. On behalf of the General Assembly, Bernard Harrison thanked President Ashari for his most valuable contributions during his two terms of office, from 1990 to 1996 in developing SEAZA into the dynamic organization it has become. President Ashari also announced the election of Mohd. Nawayai Yasak to the office of Vice President, Dr. Wong Hun Mun to Secretary and Usum Nimmanheminda and Lukito Daryadi as members of the Executive Board. President Ashari also announced that the Executive Board has approved the appointment of Subash Chandran as Chairman of the Professional Standards Committee. The other new members of the Board will be General Ashari (Immediate Past President), Steven Leatherwood (Chair of the Membership Committee) and Richard Tenaza (Chair of the Constitution & Bylaws Committee).

  17. The venue for the 1998 Conference was confirmed to be in Vietnam.

  18. The venue far the 1999 conference was proposed to be in the Philippines.

  19. Proceedings of the Conference will be prepared by the Organizing Committee and with consent of the Executive Board, the Proceedings will be sent to participants within 6 weeks after the conference.

  20. The conference was sponsored by the following organizations: Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment Malaysia, Melaka State Government, Malacca State Economic Development Corporation, Sunny Ostrich and Animal Ranch Sdn. Bhd and Goatrade Farming Sdn. Bhd.

  21. On behalf of all participants, President Ashari thanked the sponsors and the Organizing Committee for facilitating the attendance of several colleagues and for making excellent arrangements for the conference. These were instrumental to the success of the conference.

  22. On the evenings of 22 and 23 October 1996, participants visited Melaka Zoo and the Butterfly Park respectively and on 23 October 1996 participants made a field trip to Zoo Negara and Kuala Lumpur.

  23. A welcome dinner was hosted by the Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment Malaysia at the Malacca Village Paradise Resort on 22 October 1996. The Director General, Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia hosted an excellent barbecue dinner on 23 October 1996 at the Zoo Melaka. On 24 October 1996 the Honorable Datuk Seri Haji Mohd. Bin Hj. Ab. Ghani, Chief Minister of Melaka hosted a dinner at the Riviera Bay Resort Melaka to officially close the Sixth SEAZA Conference in Melaka, Malaysia. The food and entertainment were excellent.