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South Asia Representative
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Regional Representatives
South Asia
Sally Walker
Zoo Outreach Organization
sallyrwalker@aol.com
Sally Walker was born in the USA and traveled to India in 1976 to study Sanskrit and yoga. There, Sally had an epiphany which led her to volunteer at Mysore Zoo where in 1981, she established Friends of Mysore Zoo, in South Asia, which targeted public education, staff training and zoo improvement generally. An appointment to the National Zoo Advisory Board in New Delhi led to government officials encouraging her to set up Zoo Outreach Organisation (ZOO) in 1985 on a national level and providing generous seed money to start. Working both for zoo and field conservation, the organization has successfully built networks (3 thematic and six taxon networks) to catalyze or facilitate conservation action. It brings together stakeholders, e.g., scientists, other specialists and lay people, to bring about consensus over a variety of conservation issues. Two monthly publications, ZOOS’ PRINT and ZOO ZEN founded and edited by Sally, have not missed a month since founding in 1985.
Other work has included lobbying initiatives, design and provision of educational material and development of scientific training programs. In particular, her work as Convenor of the SSC IUCN Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, India and later South Asia, led to a CBSG Regional Networks programme with 9 nodes currently. Early work with zoos led to a six year membership on the Central Zoo Authority during which Sally changed ZOO’s focus to the entire region of south Asia and in 2000 founded the South Asian Zoo Association for Regional Cooperation, SAZARC. Her focus on education permeates all conservation works and rarely does a technical training occur that doesn’t include a module on public education.
Sally has been the recipient of four Awards, the Venu Menon Wildlife Welfare Award (1999), Chester Zoo Hon.Sci. Fellow (2000), the Heini Heidigger award (2004) and most recently the Ulysses Seal Award (2008). She currently divides her time between India and the United States, using email to keep up momentum and participate in office work.
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