General Meeting in Tropical Temperatures
Landau, July 2, 2025. It was not the first time that Sphenisco's annual general meeting was held in high midsummer temperatures. However, on Saturday, June 28, 2025, temperatures had already exceeded 30 degrees Celsius by the time the event began. Fans and air conditioning were busy fighting them in the zoo school room. The situation was completely different for our Chilean partners Nancy Duman and Alejandro Simeone, who joined the meeting via video conference. They were freezing in the Chilean winter at chilling 6 degrees.
The heatwave had not kept club members from seven federal states from coming to Landau, a sign of their club solidarity. For inner cooling there were sufficient water bottles ready and waiting on the tables. Chairman Werner Knauf welcomed 25 members and three guests. By way of introduction, zoo director Dr. Jens-Ove Heckel paid tribute to the dedicated and successful work of the association.
With great interest, the members followed the presentations by Nancy Duman and Alejandro Simeone. Their statements clearly showed how committed they are to conservation measures and their continuation regarding the existence of the Humboldt penguin – despite the difficult situation. Alejandro Simeone explained that the number of breeding pairs on the breeding islands had not improved at all following El Niño and bird flu. The census of breeding pairs will be continued. Perhaps in two years' time, a positive development of the population can be reported.
Nancy reported on the efforts to design the “Marine protection zone with multiple uses”. Currently, public participation workshops are being held. In addition to Sphenisco Chile, groups such as “Corporación gerechte Entwicklung” (corporation fair development) and MODEMA are also speaking out. Sphenisco Chile is accompanying the process with intensive public relations work: presence in social media, a traveling photo exhibition, a “literature competition”, the video podcast Sintonia Humboldt, the campaign “Humboldt Penguin -Symbol Bird of the Humboldt Current” and a textbook about the Humboldt Archipelago. The textbook is already available digitally. Both regional education ministries recommend the textbook and support the distribution of 1,000 copies to schools as well as libraries in the provinces of Atacama and Coquimbo. However, Nancy Duman also made it clear how difficult talks and negotiations regarding the planned construction of two loading ports are. The pressure from above is immense.
The members were impressed by the diverse activities and media of Acorema in Peru. The NGO initiated numerous workshops, vacation programs for socially disadvantaged children as well as teaching and training projects for educators. When working with children, Señora Milagros and her team have always motivated the participants to create their own drawings, collages and posters to protect the Humboldt penguin.
On behalf of Christina Schubert, Meike Kagel reported on the activities here in Germany. Among other things, she mentioned campaign days and events in Halle, Karlsruhe, Landau, Neuwied, Saarbrücken, Bochum and Dortmund. Further campaigns are planned in several zoos.
The artist Jacqueline Gratzfeld, herself a member of Sphenisco, donated four paintings to the association. They were sent to Nancy Duman in Chile. It is planned to donate the pictures to individuals or institutions to enrich their public relations work and in recognition of their commitment to nature conservation.
After lively discussions, Chairman Werner Knauf thanked the cooperation partners in Chile and Peru for their tireless efforts and praised his fellow campaigners on site for their commitment to various activities (see also PDF file “Minutes of the General Meeting (PDF, 32KB)”).
In the evening, the sociable exchange during the coffee breaks continued in a cheerful atmosphere in the Mühlengrund restaurant in Heuchelheim until late in the evening. The participants discussed the work in various zoos and their projects and talked about their travels, encounters with animals and animal experiences in faraway countries. At one table, the two globetrotters Volker and Isa amazed the group. They had already experienced sixteen of the seventeen existing penguin species in the wild. They shouldn't wait too much longer for another trip to Antarctica. The emperor penguins are waiting for them.
Hans-Joachim Schatz
translated by Angelika Veelken with partial use of deepl.com
