The Cooperation Signing Ceremony between the Institute of Zoology (IOZ), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), was held in IOZ on October 11, 2007. Director of IOZ, Prof. Zhibin Zhang, Executive Vice President of WCS, Dr. John Robinson, China Program Director of WCS, Dr. Yan Xie, attended the signing ceremony. Many experts and scholars from related government departments and international organizations were invited to participate the signing ceremony.

The objectives of this cooperation signing ceremony are to promote in a proactive manner the biodiversity conservation; to enhance capacity building in such areas as biodiversity conservation; and to promote education on wildlife conservation.

After the signing ceremony, Dr. John Robinson gave a lecture in title of “The Changing Landscape of Conservation”, introducing the changes of different focus on natural conservation.

WCS and IOZ have had a long history of collaborating on conservation research, education and outreach activities in China. The cooperation signing between IOZ and WCS will promote the conservation of biodiversity in China, and lay a good foundation for further cooperation and collaboration.