Hornbill Nest Adoption Program: Decennary celebration

[GS Paper 3 – Conservation, Environment Pollution and Degradation]

The Hornbill Nest Adoption Program of Arunachal Pradesh celebrates a decade of successful conservation of Hornbills.

HNAP operates in the forests outside Arunachal Pradesh’s Pakke Tiger Reserve.

About Hornbill Nest Adoption Program (HNAP)

• The Hornbill Nest adoption program is a community-based conservation initiative that was started in the year 2011.
  
• Through this, tribal villagers protect trees in forests around villages on the fringe of the Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh.
  
• The HNAP uses a unique model as it brings two sets of external protectors.
  
• It was launched as a partnership with a local NGO called Ghora-Aabhe and Arunachal Pradesh Forest Department.
  
• In 2017, the Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival Committee was also included as the fourth partner

Pakke Tiger Reserve:

• This tiger reserve lies in the foothills of the Eastern Himalaya in the East Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh. It is also known as Pakhui Tiger Reserve.
  
• It falls within the Eastern Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspot.
  
• It is home to over 2000 species of plants, 300 species of birds, 40 species of mammals, 30 species of amphibious and 36 species of reptiles. Many species of the flora and fauna are globally threatened and PTR is one of the last remaining strongholds left for these species.
  
• It is known for its amazing sightings of four resident Hornbill species.
  
• Pakke Tiger Reserve and its environment harbor four species: the great hornbill, rufous-necked hornbill, wreathed hornbill and the oriented pied hornbill.

Hornbills in India:

• India is home to nine species of hornbills. Hornbills are indicators of the health of a forest.
  
• They are seed dispersers and rightly called ‘the farmers of the forest’.
  
• The Northeastern region has the highest diversity of Hornbill species within India.
  
• The wreathed hornbill, the brown hornbill, the Rufous-necked hornbill are found in the northeast.
  
• The great hornbill and the Oriented pied hornbill occur in other parts of India
  
• The great hornbill is the state bird of Arunachal Pradesh and Kerala. It is vulnerable under the IUCN Red list.

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