Protected areas are among the world's most effective tools for conserving biodiversity. Yet they cannot succeed on their own.
Wildlife moves beyond park boundaries, rivers flow across landscapes and communities depend on natural resources inside and outside protected areas.
Protecting biodiversity means looking beyond protected areas.
At the Frankfurt Zoological Society, we strengthen protected areas while supporting the people, institutions, and sustainable land use that keep surrounding landscapes healthy and connected.
A protected area is a clearly defined area on land or at sea that is designated to conserve nature, wildlife, and ecosystems over the long term. Most protected areas are established by governments and managed under national legislation or internationally recognised conservation standards.
Their long-term success, however, depends on more than legal protection. It requires effective management, strong local support, and healthy, connected landscapes. FZS works with governments, protected area authorities, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, and other partners to strengthen these foundations for long-term conservation.
From Protected Areas to Living Landscapes
Protected areas are most effective when they are part of healthy, connected landscapes.
Many of today’s greatest threats to biodiversity, including deforestation, illegal mining, unsustainable resource extraction, and expanding infrastructure, originate outside protected areas. Their impacts spread across entire landscapes, affecting wildlife, ecosystems, and the communities that depend on them.
That is why FZS combines support for protected area management with work beyond park boundaries. Together with our partners, we strengthen ecological connectivity, promote sustainable land use, and help communities build nature-positive livelihoods.
By linking protected areas with the wider landscape, we help ecosystems remain resilient and create better outcomes for biodiversity and people.
How We Work
Conservation is complex. Every landscape has different ecological, political and social challenges, so our approach is always adapted to local conditions. That is why we begin by listening and learning. Together with national partners, protected area authorities, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, we identify conservation priorities and identify where our support can make the greatest long-term difference.
As a non-profit organisation, we invest knowledge, technical expertise, and long-term commitment to support nature and people.
Our work typically includes:
- Develop and improve management plans for protected areas
- Use data and technology to monitor biodiversity and threats
- Train and equip rangers and protected area staff
- Support conservation-friendly livelihoods
- Promote sustainable land use around protected areas
- Provide environmental education
Conservation Works Through Partnerships
Long-term conservation succeeds when people who live with nature help shape its future.
That is why our approach is rooted in long-term partnerships with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), protected area authorities, governments, and other local partners. Together, we strengthen sustainable livelihoods, expand education and employment opportunities, support women and young people, and foster transparent, long-term collaboration.
Part of a Global Effort
FZS contributes to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and its goal of protecting 30 percent of the world’s land and seas by 2030.
Our work helps strengthen protected area systems while demonstrating that effective conservation depends not only on protected areas themselves, but also on the resilience of the landscapes that surround them.
Our Impact
Today, our long-term partnerships support conservation across some of the world’s most important wilderness landscapes.
- Decades of ongoing conservation work in Germany, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Peru and many other countries.
- About 400,000 square kilometers under active protection across partner landscapes (about the size of Germany and Switzerland combined)
- 14 countries with national project offices and registered sister organisations
- About 1,000 staff members worldwide, with the majority in program countries
(Data from Annual Report 2025 – Check out for more)
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions related to our work in protected areas and surrounding landscapes.
Protected areas are most effective when they are part of healthy, connected landscapes. Wildlife moves beyond park boundaries, rivers connect ecosystems, and many of the greatest threats to biodiversity originate outside protected areas.
That is why we work not only inside protected areas, but also with the people, institutions, and surrounding landscapes that influence their long-term health. This landscape-level approach helps create lasting benefits for both nature and people.
FZS supports the long-term management of protected areas across a wide range of landscapes and countries. Our work includes management support, ranger training, scientific monitoring, and partnerships with local communities. We align our efforts with international standards such as the IUCN and the 30×30 Global Biodiversity Framework.
Protected areas help to conserve habitats and species, safeguard water sources, and stabilize the climate. Managing these areas effectively helps halt deforestation, illegal resource extraction, and biodiversity loss.
No. FZS does not create protected areas. That is the legal responsibility of national governments. Our role is to support, not decide. We provide technical assistance, scientific advice, and long-term presence through our field teams.
FZS does not have the authority to enforce laws. That responsibility lies with national or local government agencies.
We acknowledge that some protected areas where we work were originally established under colonial rule, without the standards of participation, equity, or consent that guide conservation today. We support independent research and are building a public archive of our institutional history. This helps ensure critical reflection on the past and allows us to use those lessons to shape more just and effective conservation today.
All our current work is guided by internationally recognized principles, including Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), conservation ethics, and human rights.
FZS supports countries in reaching the goal of protecting 30 percent of the planet’s land and seas by 2030. We do this through field implementation, policy support, and strengthening protected area systems.
FZS follows a rights-based, inclusive conservation model. This means respecting land rights and community-led decision-making, learning from traditional knowledge, sharing expertise, and investing in people through programs that promote sustainable livelihoods, environmental education, youth engagement, gender equality, and women’s health. Indigenous Peoples and local communities are essential partners in protecting biodiversity.
You can donate to us, helping to fund the work in our programs. Your support will enable for example ranger training, equipment purchases, and other conservation activities. Sharing our work also helps raise awareness.