Securing Safe Havens for the Critically Endangered Helmeted Hornbill

The Helmeted Hornbill has become the flagship species for Southeast Asian birds threatened by trade and loss of their forest habitat. While Southeast Asian forests are globally important for avian diversity, rapid and extensive land use change due mostly to agricultural and urban expansion has resulted in massive deforestation. As a result, the region now supports some of the world’s most threatened bird faunas.

Fondation Segré is supporting this project implemented by Birdlife International and its partners with the overarching goal to maintain and restore viable wild populations of the Helmeted Hornbill within its natural range in Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand. In addition, the project aims at improving the conservation status for the Helmeted Hornbill which is currently threatened by illegal and unsustainable trade in Southeast Asia.

The project will achieve its goal of securing three forest complexes in Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand that will serve as safe havens for the species. This will be accomplished through three strategic interventions in line with the strategy of the Helmeted Hornbill Action Plan:

• Developing Helmeted Hornbill monitoring and enforcement needs and protocols for targeted anti-poaching measures at identified population strongholds within each of the three forest complexes.
• Improving anti-poaching efforts, species protection and habitat management in six Protected Area and Forest Reserves across the three countries by the end of the project.
• Engaging with local communities to formally participate in Helmeted Hornbill conservation at the three forest complexes, including population monitoring and nest protection.