Budo-Sungai Padi National Park is a swath of dense tropical rainforest a fifth the size of Bangkok that lies along southern Thailand’s isthmus linking the country to Peninsular Malaysia. Its rugged peaks and lush valleys cut through Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani provinces — an area facing rising political unrest, unpredictable weather, and escalating wildlife poaching. Despite the environmental and social challenges, conservationists and communities have collaborated over the past three decades to revitalize populations of hornbills in and around the 34,100-hectare (84,300-acre) national park. Populations of the iconic forest birds were at significant risk in the area during the 1990s due to habitat loss and high rates of poaching driven by the lucrative trade in their ornate head casques and live chicks. Poachers would target hornbill nests, often destroying old-growth trees in the process of accessing the birds. But in 1994, the Hornbill Research Foundation (HRF) at Bangkok’s Mahidol University began engaging with local communities, offering poachers an alternative livelihood as nest guardians. Instead of hunting hornbills, they’re now paid wages and trained to monitor nests, collect data, and ultimately protect the species they once exploited. The project has helped to reduce poaching pressure and reverse the trajectory of decline for many species, supporting the fledging of 490 chicks between 1994 and 2008. New research highlights how education programs in local villages and schools are key to the success of this HRF initiative. Quizzing more than 400 villagers about their perceptions of hornbills and local conservation outcomes, the research team…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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