Frankfurt Zoological Society
| Frankfurt Zoological Society from 1858 (FZS) |
|
|---|---|
| legal form | non-profit registered association |
| founding | 1858, re-established in 1958 |
| Seat | Frankfurt am Main ( ⊙ ) |
| purpose | Conservation of nature, conservation of wilderness and biodiversity |
| Chair | Klaus Becker |
| Managing directors | Christof Schenck |
| sales | 16,320,000 euros (2017) |
| Employees | 323 (2017) |
| Members | 3493 (2017) |
| Website | fzs.org |
The Frankfurt Zoological Society of 1858 eV (ZGF) is an international nature conservation organization based in Frankfurt am Main . Society's goal is to preserve biological diversity . To this end, it supports around 30 projects in around 18 countries, with the focus of financial and personal commitment traditionally being in East Africa : According to its own information, more than half of the project funds go there. Society itself, however, has only limited resources of its own; Instead, it administers and awards funds from the foundation “Help for Endangered Wildlife”, which was founded in 2001 after the death of long-time managing president Richard Faust . The focus of all projects supported by the FZS is on the preservation of wilderness and biological diversity.
The registered non-profit association has around 3500 members in Germany and abroad. Any private person or organization can become a member.
history
The association follows the tradition of a public limited company that was legally established on March 7, 1858 , the aim of which was to build a zoological garden in Frankfurt am Main . In the previous year, the Senate of the then Free City of Frankfurt had declared the keeping of bears , wolves and wild boars in escape-proof cages as harmless. The initiators of the idea of founding a zoo against the background of increasing interest in natural history were wealthy Frankfurt citizens, and they therefore began issuing shares in the company in October 1857. By the 1st General Meeting in March 1858, 246 shareholders had subscribed to shares with a total value of 80,000 guilders . Just five months later, the Frankfurt Zoo - Germany's second zoo - opened on Bockenheimer Landstrasse .
When the lease for the zoo expired, an area east of downtown Frankfurt - the so-called Pfingstweide - became the zoo's new and current location from February 1874. For legal reasons, a new zoological society had to be founded as the future sponsor of the zoo , which was constituted at its first general assembly on October 31, 1872. The old society was dissolved and on January 2nd, 1873 the zoological garden was formally handed over to the "New Zoological Society". The zoo was opened at the new location on March 29, 1874. This society remained the operator of the zoo until the First World War ; however , it went bankrupt when the war led to a sharp drop in entrance fees and other income. Therefore, in the summer of 1915, the Frankfurt Zoo became the responsibility of the city and the Zoological Society was dissolved. However, many of its shareholders continued to be associated with the zoo as patrons and generous donors.
Only after the Second World War , in the final phase of which the Frankfurt Zoo and with it all documents of the association were destroyed by aerial bombs during the air raids on Frankfurt am Main , the idea of a support company for the zoo was revived. Bernhard Grzimek had organized the reconstruction of the zoo facilities from May 1945 and also collected private donations for this. From this, on February 15, 1950, the Society of Friends and Patrons of the Zoological Garden evolved , which collected donations and also raised money for the zoo with a lottery. In 1958, a hundred years after the founding of the first zoological society , the friends and sponsors decided to rename their association and to tie in with the name of the original society. From 1958, the association was therefore initially called the Frankfurt Zoological Society again , and a little later it was given the name that is still valid today.
In the course of the 1950s, the self-image of all zoological gardens changed more and more from a pure animal show to the preservation and breeding of endangered species . The pioneer in Germany was the Frankfurt zoo director Bernhard Grzimek, who initially only wanted to procure animals for his zoo from Africa, but became increasingly aware of the threat to the wild animal populations there through his visits to Africa. These experiences led the Frankfurt Zoological Society to see a new focus of work in nature conservation. After Michael Grzimek's accidental death in East Africa, the Zoological Society set up a commemorative fund for Grzimek's son Michael in 1960, which became the forerunner of the special “Help for Endangered Animal World” account, which had been advertised since 1961. In his TV series Ein Platz für Tiere , Prof. Bernhard Grzimek asked for donations to this account at the end of each episode, thereby laying the foundations for the society's worldwide nature conservation work. Donations and bequests allowed the capital stock to grow continuously over the decades.
In 2001, this capital - around 33 million euros - was transferred to one of the largest nature conservation foundations in Europe: the Aid for Endangered Wildlife Foundation . By transferring the assets of the Frankfurt Zoological Society to the foundation, the society wanted to put its species and nature conservation projects on a permanent financial basis, because the proceeds from this will continue to flow into the Frankfurt Zoological Society's projects .
Projects
The Frankfurt Zoological Society is involved in a total of 18 countries and around 30 projects. Society focuses on the conservation of wilderness and biological diversity in the last great wilderness areas on earth. The wilderness areas include a. large grasslands, forests, wetlands and mountains.
The association's projects are long-term and are carried out in close cooperation with local organizations and authorities. The involvement of the local population is also an important part of the project work. The Frankfurt Zoological Society acts in a coordinating manner in the main office in Frankfurt as well as actively with its own teams in the individual project countries.
Africa
The Frankfurt Zoological Society operates various projects in Africa. One focus is on Tanzania . Here, the FZS is currently implementing projects to protect the Serengeti , the Selous and the Mahale ecosystems, and is conducting research to preserve the threatened ecosystems of East Africa. Data on animal populations and migrations are collected, rangers, scientists and veterinarians are trained and educated, and environmental education is supported. Further projects are in Zimbabwe ( Gonarezhou Protection Project), Zambia ( North Luangwa ) and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( Virunga and Maiko National Park ).
The projects of the Frankfurt Zoological Society thrive on cooperation with local partners. These include, for example, the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA) and the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI).
Asia
Another project is the Bukit Tigapuluh protection program stationed in Central Sumatra to preserve the rainforest and wildlife. The aim of the project is the reintroduction and reintroduction of orangutans , which are being prepared for life in the wild in a jungle school. Further aspects of the work on site are human-elephant conflict avoidance, environmental education and initiatives that support ethnic groups around the national park in reconciling economic development and traditional lifestyles. Important project partners include the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park and the Orang Utan Project (TOP), the Jambi Province Conservation Authority and the WWF .
South America
In South America, the FZS is committed to protecting the species-rich forests on the eastern slopes of the Andes and in the adjacent lowlands. Specifically, among other things, patrols, aerial photo evaluations, the training of rangers and environmental education are supported here. The ecologically compatible use of natural resources in the protected area is also promoted.
The local collaboration takes place with the Crees Foundation and the Fondo de las Américas (FONDAM), among others.
Europe
Kazakhstan
In Kazakhstan, the Frankfurt Zoological Society is involved in the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative. The international joint project is committed to protecting the unique grasslands of Kazakhstan and their key species. The aim of the initiative is to build a network of protected grasslands in central Kazakhstan. The Saiga antelopes of the Betpak Dala population are particularly in focus, as they play a central role in the ecosystem of the steppes and semi-deserts. Project partners in Kazakhstan include the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
Wilderness in Germany
In Germany, the Frankfurt Zoological Society secures wilderness areas by purchasing land and supports their placing under protection in suitable protected area categories (e.g. national parks). In addition, the public and professional wilderness debate is promoted and supported by public relations work. Project partners are, for example, the Brandenburg Natural Landscapes Foundation and the David Nature Foundation.
With funds from the BMU and BfN, the Zoological Society coordinates the wilderness communication project in Germany as an initiative of the DNR strategy group for nature conservation areas. The aim is to create greater acceptance for wilderness areas in the densely populated Federal Republic. Several major nature conservation actors in Germany are project partners.
Networking
The association is networked around the world and, in addition to its contacts to its project partners, also maintains many connections to scientific networks, such as the EFA nature conservation foundation and the Diversitas Germany network . He is a member of BioFrankfurt , the network for biodiversity, works with institutions of the Senckenberg Society in Frankfurt and is a signatory of the Transparent Civil Society Initiative .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Transparent handling of donations. In: fzs.org. Retrieved December 21, 2019 .
- ^ Armin Schmitz, Arno Metzger: Zoological gardens as corporations. Historical development and financing . Antik Effekten GmbH publishing house, 2000, ISBN 978-3-9806401-2-1 , p. 83 ff .
- ↑ Our heart: Protecting the Serengeti.
- ↑ Selous Protection Project.
- ↑ Conservation in the Mahale ecosystem.
- ^ Gonarezhou Protection Project.
- ↑ North Luangwa Protection Project.
- ↑ Virunga - nature protection on the slopes of the volcanoes.
- ↑ Nature conservation in the forests of Maiko.
- ↑ The Bukit Tigapuluh Landscape Protection Program.
- ↑ From the Andes to the Amazon.
- ^ Protection of steppes and saiga antelopes in Kazakhstan.
- ↑ Securing the last wild spots in Germany.
- ↑ Wilderness communication in Germany. On: bfn.de
- ^ Signatory of the ITZ. transparency.de