IAC 2008 Declaration

Life originated in the oceans and the process of evolution has brought us to where we are now.

The theme of this IAC is: “Progress and Conservation: The role of aquariums in protecting the aquatic environment”.

Let’s extend both our hands to protect it.

Some progress has been witnessed in protecting our aquatic environments, especially through efforts by aquariums in both developed and developing countries.

We still have a long way to go and conservation and protection of our aquatic environments is an urgent priority! We must nevertheless ensure that all environmental, economic and cultural aspects are taken into account to ensure that our actions are sustainable.

This is a serious and very difficult task. Aquariums are undeniably the best instrument to inform the public at large about the status of the aquatic environments, their fragility and the positive actions we might take to mitigate the risks they face:

•  We carry an obligation on our shoulders to protect the world heritage that is vested in our aquatic environments, the most precious and largest single component of our planet.
•  Improper management of these resources puts humanity and our planetary stability at risk.

It is therefore incumbent on us to act responsibly and to speak with one voice.

Aquariums hold the keys to communicate best practises to decision makers, stakeholders and to the public at large!

In our 2004 conference the seeds were sown for the creation of a common worldwide aquarium platform to be born from the success of the IAC and to be known as the International Aquarium Forum.

This 2008 IAC marks the formal commitment of the aquarium community to this professional communication forum which, from today, with the full endorsement of this congress, will be our common voice. 

It is not too late to make a difference but we have to act today not tomorrow!

Therefore aquariums under the auspices of the IAF should unite to:

•  use all possible resources to ensure that the public are fully and accurately informed.
•  use the positive emotional impact of an aquarium visit to stimulate communication of easily understandable messages to reach all ages.
•  achieve more sustainable practises to reduce our environmental footprint.
•  work hand in hand with scientists and research institutes to communicate results of research to our public.
•  solicit collaboration of the public in ocean and aquatic environmental advocacy.
•  act together to raise awareness of the status of our aquatic environments to influence policies and actions on local and global scale.
•  be more proactive in promotion of and participation in worldwide common actions such as ‘World Ocean Day’ on June the 8th of each year.
•  be present and influential in International global environmental forums such as the ‘Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts and Islands’.
•  actively promote the IAF as an acknowledged and respected professional reference for aquatic environmental issues
•  combine their efforts worldwide in conservation of the aquatic environment.