How a community-based initiative restored dwindling hornbill population in Western Ghats

How a community-based initiative restored dwindling hornbill population in Western Ghats

A community-based conservation initiative, involving the Kadar tribal community, has brought the dwindling hornbill population to a viable level in the Vazhachal Forest division of the Western Ghats.

“The Hornbill nest tree monitoring programme, involving the Kadars, an indigenous community, was started in 2005 in the Vazhachal forest division with the technical support of the Western Ghats Hornbill Foundation to address the declining hornbill population and restore their vanishing nesting habitat,” says K.H. Amitha Bachan, founder of the Hornbill Foundation and assistant professor and research guide, Department of Botany, MES Asmabi College, Kodungallur.

The unique low-elevation riparian forest in the Athirappilly-Vazhachal areas is the only location where all the four south Indian species of hornbills – the Great Hornbill (the State bird of Kerala), Malabar Pied Hornbill, Malabar Grey Hornbill and the Indian Grey Hornbill – can be seen.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, the Great Hornbill is a vulnerable category, while the Malabar Pied Hornbill is near-threatened.

According to observations by scientists in 2007, the Malabar Pied Hornbills were restricted to a few low-elevation locations in Kerala, says Dr. Bachan. However, the studies conducted by Dr. Bachan reported four nesting trees of the Malabar Pied Hornbill at Vazhachal. A group of youngsters from the Kadar community was roped in to be part of the mission with the support of the Forest department.

Involvement of the indigenous community and awareness programme against poaching of hornbills helped the Western Ghats Hornbill Foundation to protect and monitor the nesting trees and the species.

There was a gradual increase in the number of successful nests, reestablishment of nests (which were abandoned due to hunting and disturbances) and formation of new nesting hollows in suitable trees. Slowly, the number of Malabar Pied hornbills in the area increased to 100 with 12 nesting sites, points out Dr. Bachan.