title: South Asian Zoo Association for Regional Cooperation
text: # South Asian Zoo Association for Regional Cooperation
  
  The South Asian Zoo Association for Regional Cooperation (SAZARC) is an organization for South Asian zoos and aquariums. SAZARC was established on August 4, 2000, at the first meeting of South Asian Zoos, held at Central Zoo, Kathmandu, Nepal, initiated by the Zoo Outreach Organisation (ZOO). It became a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) in 2004, and membership was terminated by WAZA in 2015. SAZARC is considered the sister organization of the South East Asian Zoos Association (SEAZA), the only other regional association of zoos in Asia.
  
  ## Conferences
  
  The following table lists the year and venue of all annual conferences of SAZARC.
  
  | Session | Started | Ended | Host | Location | Additional notes |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | First Annual Conference | August 3, 2000 | August 3, 2000 | Central Zoo | Kathmandu, Nepal | Founding members were Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. |
  | Second Annual Conference | October 7, 2001 | October 11, 2001 | Taiping Zoo | Perak, Malaysia | Combined meeting with SEAZA. 10th anniversary of SEAZA. |
  | Third Annual Conference | October 6, 2002 | October 11, 2002 | Dhaka Zoo | Dhaka, Bangladesh | |
  | Fourth Annual Conference | December 1, 2003 | December 5, 2003 | Colombo Zoo | Dehiwala, Sri Lanka | |
  | Fifth Annual Conference | December 1, 2004 | December 5, 2004 | Lahore Zoo | Lahore, Pakistan | First time participation of Afghanistan. SAZARC became a member of WAZA. |
  | Sixth Annual Conference | December 1, 2005 | December 5, 2005 | Karl Kübel Institute | Coimbatore, India | |
  | Seventh Annual Conference | September 11, 2006 | September 13, 2006 | Saigon Zoo | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | Combined meeting with SEAZA. 15th anniversary of SEAZA. |
  | Eighth Annual Conference | January 30, 2008 | February 3, 2008 | Kamla Nehru Zoo | Ahmedabad, India | |
  | Ninth Annual Conference | February 11, 2009 | February 15, 2009 | Colombo Zoo | Dehiwala, Sri Lanka | 10th anniversary of SAZARC. |
  | Tenth Annual Conference | November 22, 2010 | November 27, 2010 | Central Zoo | Kathmandu, Nepal | First time participation of Bhutan. |
  
  ## Members
  
  ### Founding members
  
  * Bangladesh
  * India
  * Nepal
  * Pakistan
  * Sri Lanka
  
  ### Other members
  
  * Afghanistan (member since 2004)
  * Bhutan (member since 2010)
  * Maldives
  