The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) gave 13,500 euros in grants to members to support their attendance to the 4th Joint Taxon Advisory Group (TAG) Chairs Meeting, in Long Beach, California, United States. More than 20 representatives from several WAZA regional and national Association Members benefited from the travel grants awarded by WAZA, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) to attend the event in California.

The travel grants were created to support TAG Chairs, TAG Vice Chairs, Programme leaders, GSMP Convenors, and colleagues with similar roles, to attend key meetings such as this one, where many topics relevant to population management in zoos and aquariums, and the ways to align the work our organisations do, are discussed. Funding for the aid programme was provided by EAZA, AZA, and WAZA; and the applications were open to anyone within the conservation field that could find value in attending the meeting and connecting with their colleagues within the zoo and aquarium community.  

Members from the United States, the Latin American region, South Africa, Canada, and Europe received grants of between 500, 750 and 1,000 euros which supported their participation in the event. A total of 22,250 euros were given out as travel grants thanks to EAZA, AZA and WAZA.  

Taxon Advisory Groups (TAGs) are responsible for the management of an entire taxon within zoos and aquariums regionally. As experts on a certain taxon and its regional population, TAGs develop recommendations for population management based on the needs of the taxa and the zoos and aquariums within the region, as well as sharing the best practices for caring and protecting them. 

Each TAG designates a chair for each group, and chairs from all over the world gather every two years at the Joint TAG Chairs meeting.   

After the 2020 meeting was cancelled due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the meeting that took place from 24-26 April, 2022 in Long Beach, United States, was the first in four years and saw the attendance of over 70 delegates from different world regions. 

The first three Joint TAG Chair meetings gathered delegates from around the world including representatives from mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, invertebrate species, population biologists, and scientists TAG Chairs and Vice Chairs. WAZA, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and Species360 experts also attended.