Social determinants of success of community-based hornbill conservation in Thailand

Abstract

The Thailand Hornbill Project (THP) launched the first community-based hornbill conservation program in southern Thailand (CBC-THP) in 1994 to combat hornbill poaching. For 30 years, CBC-THP has engaged local communities in hornbill conservation, achieving ecological success evident through increased chick survival rates. To evaluate CBC-THP's success beyond ecological outcomes, we surveyed three stakeholder groups: 124 hornbill adopters (HA), 142 participants in CBC-THP (THPP), and 422 non-participants (NTHPP). We examined their backgrounds, eight social determinants, and their perceptions of CBC-THP's success. Using explanatory factor analysis, we categorized specific social determinants for comparison and assessed their impact on perceived success through ordinal regression. The analysis revealed that perceived outcomes were a primary determinant of success across all groups. For HAs, involvement in CBC-THP was a significant factor, whereas for THPP and NTHPP, knowledge of hornbill ecology and a positive attitude towards conservation efforts were crucial. Additionally, perceived benefits substantially influenced THPP's view of success, while trust, perceived conflict, and barrier to sustainability were key factors for NTHPP. These findings highlight the importance of understanding social factors to foster stakeholder support for community-based wildlife conservation initiatives. We recommend a nationwide assessment of CBC-THP's perceived success to further explore social factors affecting hornbill conservation.