Phoenix Wong from the Fauna Conservation Department and Zoe Yeung from the Education Department attended the 5th Asian Zoo Educators’ Conference (AZEC) 2015 in Seoul, South Korea from 7 to 12 December 2015.


Group photo of all conference participants

The AZEC is an international conference for educators to exchange the newest information and share ideas on local environment and wildlife conservation. It makes an effort to improve quality of educational programmes at zoos, aquarium, botanical gardens, museums, wildlife rescue centres, nature reserve and NGOs in Asia. This year’s conference was hosted by the Seoul Zoo and the theme was ‘Conserving the Natural Environment and Biodiversity in Asia’. The conference included keynote presentation, workshops, oral presentations, poster presentations and visits to the Seoul Zoo and the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

Phoenix presenting “Night Activities in Hong Kong” at the AZEC 2015 on 8th December

There were more than 200 participants from over 10 countries in Asia. A total of 67 abstracts (33 oral and 34 poster presentations) were presented during the conference. Phoenix gave an oral presentation on night education programmes organised by the KFBG to promote Hong Kong’s biodiversity and the native nocturnal wildlife.

DMZ migratory bird watching tour

One of the highlights of the conference was the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) migratory bird watching tour. The DMZ is the buffer zone between the North and South Korea. It extends for 250km from coast to coast and measures about 4km wide, 2km on each side from the border between two countries. It has been in place since the Korean War armistice in 1953. People are only allowed to enter the DMZ with special permits. Therefore, it has had limited human disturbance for more than 50 years. According to a statement from the Republic of Korea Ministry Environment, 2,716 species live within the DMZ, many of them are endangered. By using birding scopes, a family of Red-crowned Crane (parents and a young chick), several groups of ducks, Cinereous Vultures, some deer and a raccoon dog were spotted.

Education displays at the Seoul Zoo

The conference was a great event to share educators’ ideas and experience on environmental education. Getting ideas from other organisations can stimulate our thinking and improve current educational programmes. The next AZEC will be hosted by the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium and held in Taiwan in 2017.