European Association of Zoos and Aquaria
EAZA’s main mission is to promote animal welfare and conserve endangered species. All of its about 300 members are committed to upholding the organisation’s ethical principles in all their activities and to contributing to species conservation. Animals are not bought or sold between zoos, but are transferred between them as part of conservation programmes.
EAZA also monitors the activities of its members through regular audits – membership can be lost if a zoo’s activities do not meet its criteria. Inspections cover areas such as zoo staff, safety, finances, animal welfare, enclosure facilities, veterinary facilities, and documentation. The organisation may also issue warnings and recommendations to its members on the basis of anomalies brought to its attention outside the inspections.
Korkeasaari Zoo has several roles of responsibility in EAZA. These include membership of species committees and various working groups, and acting as species coordinator for EEP programmes. In practice, these responsibilities help in the conservation of species, for example in the planning of reintroduction projects, research, the maintenance of genetic diversity in zoo populations, and spreading information both in zoos and in the natural habitats of species.
Korkeasaari Zoo is one of the founding members of EAZA in 1992, and has been an audited member ever since. Other Finnish members of the organisation nowadays are Ähtäri Zoo and Ranua Wildlife Park.
World Association of Zoos and Aquaria
WAZA is the umbrella organisation for regional zoo associations and organisations, whose main tasks and objectives are related to the conservation of animal species, nature protection, and sustainable development. Its members include the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
Korkeasaari Zoo is a member of WAZA both directly and through its membership of EAZA. Korkeasaari Zoo also holds positions of responsibilities in WAZA: it represents Europe as a member of the WAZA Council and is a member of the WAZA Communications Committee.
International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN
IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest network of conservationists, made up of national members and various organisations. It aims to promote the conservation of biodiversity and ensure that natural resources are used sustainably.
One of IUCN’s best-known achievements is the Red List of Threatened Species, the most comprehensive database of species classifications. It assesses the risk of species survival and helps target conservation measures. The IUCN is also the one to thank for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES.
Korkeasaari Zoo was accepted as a member of the IUCN in 2016. Korkeasaari is also part of the Finnish IUCN Committee, which represents the members in the Union.
Finnish and Swedish Zoo Associations
The Finnish Zoo Association is an informal network of Finnish zoos, which Korkeasaari Zoo also co-founded in 2001. The network aims to promote good management in Finnish zoos and to strengthen the role of zoos in nature conservation.
In 2021, Korkeasaari joined the Swedish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (SDF) to strengthen Nordic cooperation of zoos. SDF aims to protect endangered species and their habitats together with its members by raising awareness of animal species and biodiversity. The association monitors the activities of its member zoos through regular inspections, thus helping its members to improve their activities. As the name suggests, the majority of the association’s members are based in Sweden, but there are also members outside the country: two Norwegian zoos and Korkeasaari Zoo in Finland.
Species360
Species360 is an international organisation that maintains the world’s largest database of animal information, called the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS). The database aims to maintain an up-to-date information of animal species and individuals in zoos, and thus develop and share best practices in animal husbandry and species conservation.
Information is stored in zoos, public aquariums, wildlife rescue centres, and research institutes on more than 10 million animals – including the animals currently and previously housed in Korkeasaari Zoo. International researchers have the opportunity to use this data in their work.
Partners on conservation projects
Korkeasaari Zoo funds species conservation projects around the world and collaborates with many international organisations. You can read more about our partners on our conservation project pages or on the organisations’ own websites by following the links below
