Southeast Asian Zoo Association (SEAZA) is the regional organization of zoos for Southeast Asia. It represents around 90 different conservatories and zoos in Southeast Asia. SEAZA became a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) in 1990. SEAZA Headquarters are currently located in Taiwan. SEAZA is considered a sister organization to the South Asian Zoo Association for Regional Cooperation (SAZARC), which organizes zoos in Nepal, India and other countries in South Asia. Although they preside over two similar regions, the cultures and policies of the regions are too different for a single organization to govern both. The main goals of the SEAZA are to, "Strengthen in-situ conservation and management plans, to increase captive breading through research, to improve standards of non human animal welfare, to provide better recreational learning experiences for zoo visitors, to educate the public about the importance of wildlife conservation, and to promote tourism in Southeast Asia." Achieving SEAZA's goals is particularly important as Southeast Asia is one of the most biologically diverse regions in the world, but rapid, recent economic growth of these countries has caused this rare ecosystem to be put in jeopardy. However, today SEAZA is facing significant challenges that is putting its future viability in jeopardy.
History Although many zoos existed in Southeast Asia before 1990, there was no formal organization linking these zoos. As more private zoos in Southeast Asia opened to the public and as Southeast Asia became a part of the modern world, there was pressure for their zoos to meet western ethical standards. Many of these zoos had very different governing policies set by their country, while others had no formally established policy. This led to the desire to create some form of governing body that could set standards for all types of zoos across the region. The initiative to form an association of zoos in SEA originated at a conference of zoos held in 1988 at the National Zoo of Malaysia. The Director of National Zoo of Malaysia, Idris Malik, wrote the proposal for the creation of SEAZA. In 1989, the zoos met again and the retired Indonesian Military Director, Danudirdjo Ashari, pushed the organization into the official stage and brought it to the WAZA, where it was officially recognized as a member in 1990. Danudirdjo served as the President of SEAZA from 1993 to 1995. Bernard Harrison, the Director of the Singapore Zoo, became President in 1996. At that time, many of the zoos had no operating guidelines or policies. Harrison worked with all the members of SEAZA to establish a written constitution that would guide behavior for zoos in Southeast Asia in 1998. Harrison also established sub committees on breeding, ethics, conservation, and public education. He instituted yearly meetings instead of bi-yearly meetings in 1998. This was motivated in part by the economic crisis of 1997 that started in Thailand and caused the SEAZA to miss their scheduled meeting in Ho Chi Minh City. In 2001 SEAZA held its 10th meeting in Malaysia to establish their sisterhood with SAZARC.
In the mid-2000s, Dr Phan Viet Lam, the director of the Saigon Zoo, took over as president and is currently in office. SEAZA held its 21st yearly conference in November 2013 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The conference had six focus areas: breeding and zoo veterinary services, marketing and zoo education, biodiversity and conservation, zoo design and environment enrichment, ethical standards in animal care, and multiplication and animal habitat. Representatives from all 12 countries and territories were present. The 22nd SEAZA conference was scheduled to take place at the Taipei Zoo in October 2014. The theme of this year's conference is developing a "One Plan Approach" with focused sessions on standardizing economic policies and procedures with a connection to marketing, creating a sustainable standard of animal care, and veterinarian education in areas such as radiology and ultrasounds.
Philosophy and Beliefs
SEAZA deals with more diverse cultural and economic environments than most members of WAZA. Consequently, SEAZA is the only member of the WAZA that does not have completely universal Ethical and Welfare standards across zoos. However, all members must meet certain baselines and provide certain rights to remain a part of SEAZA. These are as follows, • Animals should have access to sufficient food • Access to sufficient drinking water • Shelter to inclement weather • A clean enclosure to reduce the spread of infectious diseases • Responsible staff to care for them when they are in distress • All animals should exhibit normal behavior. While these are universally defined health standards, differences in religious beliefs from country to country prevent a prescriptive approach to defining how animals are cared for. For example, because Thailand is a Buddhist nation, they are forbidden from even euthanizing animals that are sick and in pain with no hope of recovery. Because of these varying beliefs, the Ethics Committee of SEAZA takes into account the ethical standards of the country and the people who work there. In addition to respecting the regional ethical beliefs of the area where a zoo is located, SEAZA tries not to favor rich zoos over poor zoos. SEAZA is the only world zoo organization with different membership criteria for rich zoos and poor zoos. This has led some experts to claim that the SEAZA is more like an organization of refugee camps for animals who were displaced from their natural habitats. With respect to conservation and species rehabilitation, SEAZA attempts to enforce the mandates of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered species (CITES) established in Geneva Switzerland in 1973 that set up policies on trading and exporting animals across international borders. Many Southeast Asia animals are heavily regulated under this treaty, due to a recent loss of habitat.
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