Science and Conservation Events
In-person
Big cats are key species within ecosystems, and are often important for securing public support for conservation.
However, their needs are rarely explicitly addressed in international conservation policy, particularly in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Big cats are used as flagship, keystone or umbrella species across ecosystems, and often depend on a coordinated approach to conservation that is effective at the scale of the large landscapes needed for their survival.
This includes international coordination to support transboundary big cat populations and the maintenance and recovery of connectivity between protected areas. It also includes the engagement and support for local communities, who may share these landscapes. Big cats could therefore become important ambassadors for large scale terrestrial conservation and nature recovery.
This evening event will bring together big cat experts to explore the relationships between big cats and international conservation policy.
Three speakers will take a deep dive into a different big cat species as a case study (cheetah, jaguar and tiger) to explore the challenges that they face and how they depend on international conservation policies, including the need for a coordinated landscape approach to their conservation.
Speakers will provide examples of how the conservation of big cats depends on, and supports, broader wildlife recovery and connectivity. They will reflect on the relationship between big cats and local communities, and the need to reconcile bottom-up community-based conservation with a broader landscape approach in order to ensure the conservation of these species.
The fourth and final speaker will provide an overview of international policy and big cats, to demonstrate how international agreements, such as CBD, have an important role to play in big cat conservation, and how big cats could have a role in increasing public engagement and support for such conventions.
Speakers
- Cheetahs: Professor Sarah Durant, Institute of Zoology, ZSL
- Jaguars: Dr Valeria Boron, WWF and Dr Melissa Arias, ZSL
- Tigers: Dr Sahil Nijhawan, ZSL
- Opportunities and challenges for big cat conservation over the next decade: Paul de Ornellas, WWF
This event will be chaired by Dr Susan Lieberman, Wildlife Conservation Society.
An abstract booklet will be available on this page shortly.
The ZSL Library will be open later than usual to allow attendees of this event to visit before the event begins. Find more information on visiting the ZSL Library.
Attending this event
- This Science and Conservation Event is free to attend but registration is required so we can monitor event numbers. Book your free ticket.
- The event will feature talks from the speakers, followed by a Q&A discussion panel. It will run from 6:00pm - 7:30pm, and doors will open at 5:30pm.
- Seats are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Venue: Huxley Lecture Theatre at the Meeting Rooms of the Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, NW1 4RY. See map (number 2 on the Key).
- Travel: Nearest underground: Camden Town Station; Nearest bus: no. 274.
- Recording disclaimer: The presentations and Q&A session will be filmed during this event, and the recording published on our Science and Conservation YouTube channel afterwards. Please be aware that by attending this event you consent to be filmed or your voice to be recorded during the Q&A session, which will be included in the published video.
Further Information
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