Where to now??

The world has evolved
and the Wildlife sub-sector needs toevolve
So how do we do this??

Executive Summary• A purely membership based association is not a viable business model for thefuture PAAZA, due to the exclusion of the larger captive wildlife industry, andrestricted income stream• We need to show meaningful involvement and contribution to conservation,
including urban conservation, as well as excellent animal welfare• A regional association is pivotal in assisting the profession by representing allbona fide facilities at all National, Regional and Global forums relevant to thewildlife in a controlled environment profession• There is a real need to assist in the upliftment of the region by implementing
globally recognised animal welfare standards, species management plans andconservation action linked plansExecutive Summary - cont
• Add to this that Africa is one of the financially constrained continents and any
processes for upliftment (as mentioned above) would require funding• The changing legislative regulations both regionally and globally need to befactored into the evolving process• To sustain PAAZA in providing this assistance, the business plan needs toincorporate not only Zoos and Aquaria – for example, wildlife ranches, lodges,sanctuaries, rehab facilities, breeding centres, conservancies• We need to engage with the wider captive wildlife community to establish theirneeds and issues in order to determine what the future PAAZA should be• To be effective and sustainable, PAAZA needs to develop a commercial income
avenue

The playing field – Megatrends in Africa• Why we should talk about the plethora of megatrends unfolding in Africa (Skills
development, Education (knowledge sharing))• Megatrends are of global concern and most of them specifically affect the Africancontinent.
• It is projected that the African population will increase from 1.3 billion to 2.5 billion
people (ref: STATISTA) by 2050
• Africa has the highest urbanisation rate (ref: OECDiLibrary) worldwide (driven by
population growth and climate-induced migration)• Digitalisation poses big challenges to the continent – it offers the young population inparticular immense potential for further skills development, political participation, andaccess to global markets• These megatrends will increase pressure on wildlife conservation as a whole, and limit
availability of Africa’s “wide-open spaces” currently supporting our wildlife

The playing field - Tourism• Tourism is affected by an increasing shift from spending money on
possessions to spending it on having experiences• People are seeking meaning and purpose through travel• Consumers (visitors) are not only seeking experiences, they areseeking travel that transforms (ref: travel weekly) through life-changing
experiences such as meaningful connection and personalenrichment• More and more travellers value authenticity – this can be a deciding
factor in choosing one destination, attraction or experience overanother

The playing field – Wildlife tourism• Post COVID, public and private custodians of wildlife and natural areas
face severely reduced income streams and growing pressures to exploit
natural resources• COVID’s disruption of international tourism cut off critical revenue flows
to many wildlife conservation initiatives• The pandemic’s negative impact on rural livelihoods has also increased
the incentives for impoverished people to harvest more wildlife for foodand profit

The playing field – Wildlife tourism cont.
• “The obvious challenge for conservation is that if local people fail to benefit

from secondary wildlife industries (filmmaking, travel, hospitality, ex-situ zoos,
and safari-parks, animal rescue schemes), they may be more tempted to engage
in short-term harvesting practices (e.g., poaching for meat and tradable highvalue wildlife products such as ivory, rhino horn, and pangolin scales), fromwhich they can benefit directly and tangibly” - Michael ’t Sas-Rolfes• This would seriously affect any sustainability model• There are more and more examples where successful wildlife and tourism

initiatives have directly or indirectly benefitted the local communities

How does PAAZA adapt and grow to support thecaptive sub-sector in the light of these trends
and increasingly changing legislativeenvironment?
…and where do we stand now?

SWOT analysis…
Strengths

Weaknesses•

One voice / point of contact / central liaison forfacilities•Membership base too small – only represents a
finite group, limitation of income•Representation of Africa perspective at global
forums / associations / organisations•

Financial sustainability of membership basedorganisation - cannot rely on donor funding•

Participation at National & Regional legislativelevel•

NPO has no commercial component and tax
benefit - need to change to NPC•

Implementing agent for global welfare
accreditation process•

Stability of members - global post pandemic
recovery•

One of 23 recognised regional associations underWAZA•

Membership numbers and demographics - trend
is away from the term ‘Zoo’•

Custodian of regional & international studbooks••

Source of information for species management

Limited member universe - Z&A’s are needing toevolve•

Limited or no involvement by members inconservation actions•

Benefits of membership misunderstood•

Linking of all levels of animal care staff throughvarious training options

SWOT analysis…
OpportunitiesThreats•

Public perception / resistance of / to Z&A’s•

Increased pressure by AR’s (extremists),
particularly via a legal route which is costly forZ&A’s•

Negative attitude from tourism industry•

New global statutory legislation - restrictions onanimal movements and interactions•

Become an NPC allowing for commercial
enterprise

Increased limitations on commercial breeding
and trade•

Resistance to Sustainable use of Wildlife•

Explore and develop additional income streams••

Provide tangible additional benefits to members– products and services… negotiate commercial
deals/discounts

Lack of cohesion between facilities – operating
individually••••

Explore integration with a training academy formembers (FGASA type training)
Increase membership base by broadening othercaptive wildlife entities i.e. not limiting it to zoos
and aquariaEngage captive wildlife community to research
needsSWOT analysis…
Opportunities•

Representation of members at
local/international tourism events•

Accelerate lobbying at government level forrecognition as official accreditation body forcaptive wildlife entities•

Lobbying at Government level on legislativechanges•

Implementation of improved population
management programmes which will lead to
improved welfare and in turn, sustainability ofwildlife for communities•

Increased skills-development tools•

Centralised messaging•

Advocates for changes in modern lifestyleThreats•

Severely diminished economic viability•

Other sub-sectors (e.g. Tourism), dictating‘standards’ for our sub-sectorClosing thoughts
When it comes to wildlife and its role in the economy, contemporary Africa thus finds
itself amidst a plethora of competing demands, varied approaches, and diverse results,
as well as in the crossfire of fiercely contested policies in relation to wildlife
management, harvesting, and trading practices.

A robust future African wildlife economy will need to appropriately navigate this policy
conflict across different scales of governance, and further harness new technologies andsources of socio-economic support, guided by good data and inclusive ethical standards.
Adaptive governance mechanisms that meet these criteria are key to building wildlife
economies that are a win for wildlife, a win for humans, and that provide a fair share ofresources (sustainability) for all – (ref PERC)

Closing thoughts
Nature – a Precious asset
Dr Sue Snyman, an economist by training and the director of research for the School of Wildlife Conservation
at African Leadership University, said institutional failure, mismanagement, skewed priorities and a lack ofimagination had stymied efforts to develop inclusive and sustainable wildlife economies.
And judging by the way the world has been working over the past few decades, it seemed many people had
forgotten that economies, livelihoods and wellbeing ultimately depend on the world’s precious asset: nature.
She shared graphs showing that capital – machinery, tools and buildings used to produce goods and services– had increased more than 100% over 22 years; human capital – skills, knowledge, and experience – hadrisen by nearly 20% over the same period; but natural capital – the world’s stock of natural resources – hadfallen by nearly 40%.
“It is a key growth opportunity for Africa,” said Snyman. “Unlike other continents that have virtually depleted
their natural capital and are now rewilding, Africa still has spectacular fauna and flora.”

The slogan for today is:“Together we are Stronger”

We would like to hear your thoughts and aspirations as to how
we evolve our wonderful Wildlife sub-sector