The challenges facing conservation in our priority conservation regions of South-east Asia, Papua New Guinea and Africa are extreme. Mitigating threats to wildlife, establishing alternative livelihoods, fostering community and government support and evaluating effectiveness of programs can be extremely slow. Success requires sustained effort over many years to develop solutions and is dependent on long-term commitments from partners such as zoological institutions.

Zoos Victoria focuses on a select number of priority programs to ensure it can make significant contributions and sustain long-term commitments and partnerships in order to realise successful outcomes for biodiversity.

Tenkile Conservation Program

Expanding human populations in the forests of Papua New Guinea have led to dramatic increases in the demand for native wildlife for food. In the Torricelli Mountain Ranges, in the country’s far north-west, where hunting wildlife is the main protein source, this has led to the decline in wildlife in the area. Our partner, the Tenkile Conservation Alliance, is using the Tenkile or Scott's Tree Kangaroo, and Weimang or Golden-mantled Tree Kangaroo, as flagships to achieve and evaluate conservation outcomes in the Torricelli Mountains. Importantly, this links biodiversity conservation goals with the development of sustainable resource alternatives for local communities.
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Sumatran Conservation Program

Zoos Victoria is working closely with Fauna & Flora International to protect a major part of the Gunung Leuser National Park in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. This is a critically important region where Sumatran Orang-utans, Sumatran Tigers and Sumatran Elephants all still survive.
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Cardamom Mountains – Cambodia

The Cardamom Mountains in south-west Cambodia are rated as one of the most important areas for biodiversity in Asia, and support significant populations of threatened species. This remote wilderness spanning 2 million hectares is under increasing pressure from illegal logging, poaching and land-grabbing. Zoos Victoria supports actions by Fauna & Flora International, the Cambodian Ministry of Environment and local communities to understand the region’s biodiversity and implement strategies to ensure long-term protection for the Cardamom Mountains.
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Northern Rangelands Trust – Kenya

Covering more than 600,000 hectares of savannah and marginal farming country in northern Kenya, the Northern Rangelands Trust provides the framework for wildlife conservation, community development and sustainable use of the area’s natural resources. The Trust encompasses 16 community conservancies, with the Melako Conservancy being the focus of Zoos Victoria’s support.
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Kouprey Express – Cambodia (previously the Cambodian Conservation Program)

Cambodia's natural habitats and wildlife are facing growing pressures as the country strives to recover from many years of conflict. The Kouprey Express mobile environmental education unit complements programs to tackle the illegal trade in wildlife and protect remaining forests and is proving to be effective in raising awareness of wildlife and habitats, and their conservation. Zoos Victoria helps its field partner, Wildlife Alliance, to protect and preserve wildlife, forests and oceans for future generations. Its program also helps rural communities to develop more sustainable livelihoods.
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Philippine Crocodile Recovery Program

The Philippine Crocodile is recognized as the most threatened species of crocodile in the world. Zoos Victoria has worked closely with Philippine agencies and local communities to conserve the most important population in north-east Luzon since 2000.  Through the Mabuwaya Foundation and the San Mariano Municipal Government, the crocodile is now actively promoted as the flagship for conservation of freshwater wetlands in the region.
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Mari-it Conservation Centre – Philippines

The West Visayan Faunal Region in the Philippines’ south-west is one of the highest priority areas for conservation action in south-east Asia. The Mari-it Conservation Centre on Panay Island is playing a crucial role in securing captive populations of the island’s endemic fauna to bolster habitat protection in the island’s north. Zoos Victoria has supported the Centre, through Fauna & Flora International – Philippines, since 1999.
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Conserving Asian Freshwater Turtles

Asian tortoises and freshwater turtles comprise one of the most threatened groups of animals in the world, due mainly to unsustainable collection for food and use in traditional medicine. Zoos Victoria has supported a suite of field conservation and community awareness programs to counter the impact of the Asian Turtle Crisis since 1998 - in Vietnam, China and the Philippines. Increasingly, turtle conservation is a vehicle to address the broader issue of illegal trade in wildlife.
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