History

Following an earlier International Union of Directors of Zoological Gardens (IUDZG) founded in Basel (Switzerland) in 1935, a new IUDZG was founded in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) in 1946 by a group of zoo directors. In 1950, IUDZG became an international organization member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

In 2000, IUDZG was renamed World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) to reflect a modern institution working on a global level, to build cooperative approaches to common needs, tackle common issues, share information and knowledge, and represent the community in other international bodies such as  IUCN or conferences of the parties to global conventions, such as CITES, CBD or CMS.

Since its founding, international studbooks for rare and endangered species have been kept under the auspices of WAZA.