ADAPTING THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY FRAMEWORK FOR ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS

Abstract

Zoological gardens take care of planet’s biodiversity and wildlife conservation and put strong effort into education of society, resource efficiency and reduction of environmental impact. These efforts are equally crucial to achieving sustainability targets. The public now wants activities that are sustainable in all aspects (Peng et al., 2025). When examining institutions such as zoological gardens, whose targets are strongly related to circular economy (CE) targets – biodiversity and conservation, it is necessary to frame the concept within this context.

Already a decade ago researchers from European association of zoos and aquariums (EAZA) declared “If zoo populations are not sustainable, neither are zoos themselves.” (Leus et al., 2011). However, there is less focus on how institutions such as zoological gardens maintain their operations related to CE dimensions. Zoological gardens involved both technical and biological material flow, represented by the CE butterfly diagram (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2021). Recent studies emphasize plasticity and the variety of versions of how circular economy concepts coexist (Peris-Ortiz et al., 2025). Therefore, the adaptation of the circular economy framework is essential.