Zoo Ostrava The Annual Report 2009

• Development of the building approval dossier for the works named Biogas Plant Construction was
finished, with total costs amounting to 1,362 thousand CZK. The institutions participating on the funding
included the Statutory City of Ostrava (333 thousand) and the Regional Office of the Moravian-Silesian
Region (999 thousand), the balance of 30 thousand CZK was covered from the zoo resources. At the same
time, an application for funding from the OPE was developed and filed. The biogas plant will chiefly
provide a means of disposal of the biological waste produced by the animals as well as waste vegetation
generated as part of operation and maintenance of the vast zoo area. The project is sure to have positive
effects on improving the zoo’s economy, be it the revenues from supplying green energy into the grid of
CEZ (power supplier) or using the waste heat produced for heating specific facilities throughout the zoo.
Potential self-sufficiency of the zoo, at least to some extent, in the case of total failure of power supply is
another essential aspect to consider, as unlike other types of institutions, evacuation in the zoo situation
would be largely impossible for most of the animals held, so consequences of any blackout status would be
very dramatic.
• Development of the site planning documentation for the works named the House of Evolution was
brought to completion, with the processing costs covered through the capital grant provided by SCO, which
amounted to CZK 809.5 thousand including VAT. The project is to convert the old aquatic bird house to
a state-of-the-art exhibit for chimpanzees and other African species designed as a combined interactive
learning exhibit and animal breeding centre. During 2008, this operation was included into the Integrated
Development Plan of Ostrava City (IDPOC).
• The development phase of the Mud removal and rearrangements - pond #4 project was finished.
75% of the costs reaching CZK 116 thousand including VAT were funded from the grant successfully
received from Moravian-Silesian Region and balanced from the zoo resources. Under this project, mud
will be removed, eroded banks and the dyke restored and new islands and semi islands set up to serve as
exhibits for primates and pelicans, the latter being a species new to the zoo. In addition, endangered local
wildlife species will benefit from this project thanks to the littoral zone to be developed in the part of the
pond. An application seeking funding from OPE was already submitted.
• A project development phase of the capital projects named the Papua Aviary and Education centre:
thermal insulation and energy savings was launched. Following the Papua Exhibit (now under
development), the Papua Aviary will be adjoining the existing education and training centre in the heart of
the zoo next to the primate house. Designed as a walk-through exhibit, the aviary is to introduce mediumsized
parrot species to the visitor, bringing the birds and humans into immediate contacts. The other project
concerns the existing education and training facility of the zoo, which also serves as a place of contact with
the general public. Finished and finally approved in 1979 and still heated by electricity, this building shows
great loss of heat. For instance, the loss of heat through the opaque building envelope makes 33.1%, while
fillings of the openings, i.e. windows, are responsible for as much as 26.9% of the entire heat loss according
to the energy audit produced.
Thanks to the financial support from SCO exceeding CZK 11 million, the next project development phase could
be started for each of the four projects mentioned below, this making further efforts to get funding from
external sources (namely the EU funds) possible. The projects can be outlined as follows:
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