PROGRESS REPORT 2

Project Title: Hornbill Conservation & Education Center at Tapoh Village,

Narathiwat Province, THAILAND.

Submit to: - Woodland Park Zoo, USA

- Lowry Park Zoo, USA

- Chester Zoo, UK

Report Duration cover: February 2004 – April 2005

Project Team:

Project Consultants: 1) Prof. Dr. Pilai Poonswad

2) Mr. Preeda Thiensongrasamee

Full-time staff: 1) Ms. Sapeena Mangsamong

2) Mr. Theerasak Boonsriroj

Part-time staff: 1) Mr. Asae Masae

2) Mr. Gorsem Dhauree

Objectives: 1) Instill pride in the villagers toward their natural resources.

2) Provide resource persons for local schools and teachers.

3) Provide a knowledge resource for publics.

4) To disseminate the conservation activities of the Hornbill Research

Foundation.

5) To educate the local community about hornbills as keystone

species with a slogan, “Healthy hornbills, Healthy forest, Healthy

you”.

6) Promote eco-tourism which possibly will generate income with

communities.

Project Status:

During the period of April 2003- April 2005, we have achieved the following:

1) Establishment of Hornbill Conservation & Education Center at Tapoh Village,

Ruso District, Narathiwat Province

2) Five Educational programs & activities

3) One Study Tour

1) Establishment of Hornbill Conservation & Education Center at Tapoh Village,

Ruso District, Narathiwat Province. (August 2003- February 2004)

Following were a series of the Center Construction with participation of villagers.

28 April 2003: “Official Land Donation to Hornbill Research Foundation” for building a

Hornbill Conservation & Education Center at Tapoh Village witnessed by

villagers, Community Leader, Ruso District Chief Officer and Chief of Budo

Sungai-Padi National Park.

May 2003: Land Preparation for Center construction

August 2003: Center construction

October 2003: The Center on 20 October 2003

December 2003: The Center on 9 December 2003.

January 2004

Villagers at work

Villagers at work on 26 Jan 2004.

February 2004

Center Blessing Ceremony (22 February 2004)

A Muslim Ceremony for blessing “Duree Prey” by a senior villager to bless the Center. The young man in white shirt is the Chief of the Flowering & Ornamental Plant Collection of Southern Thailand, National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, represented Pilai Poonswad at the ceremony, he is a Muslim.

“Hayat Pray” to bless the Center The prayers came from Tapoh Village and neighbouring villages.

Complete the Center.

A part of participants at the Center Blessing Ceremony

A part of children from Tapoh Village

Children attended hornbill posters explained by Usman, the son of Haseng who is one of the best villager assistants. Usman, 12 years old always follows his father to watch hornbill nests and has learned a lot from his dad.

Activity after Center Blessing Ceremony: Planting of Hornbills food plants (22 February 2004 in the afternoon)

An officer of Budo Sungai-Padi National Park helped explaining to the children in “Yawi”, local dialect about tagging their names on the plants.

Planting of hornbill food plant

2) Educational activities

2.1 “Bird Watching” at Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary, Narathiwat Province,

22 April 2004

The activity was jointly organized by Hornbill Research Foundation and Budo

Sungai-Padi National Park (BSPNP). The purpose of this program was to educate the

participants (children) to understand interaction between birds and forest. Bird watching is a

great way which allows children to explore their natural surrounding. Eventually they gain

knowledge, skills and enjoyable outdoor learning experience

In the afternoon of 22 April 2004, the participants

and staff were helping to clean the vicinity of Pacho

Waterfall, Bacho District, Narathiwat Province.

2.2 “Educate local children by elder villagers”, 11 July 2004

Mr. Nimu Rayohkaree, an important local villager from Talohta Village who has been

participated in the Hornbill Nest Adoption Program since 1994, guided a group of children to

visit a Rhinoceros hornbill nest site near Talohta Village.

Along the way, he taught the children important fauna and flora. The transfer of knowledge

from the elders to the children is a key activity in sustaining this program into the future

generation.

In the blind to watch Rhinoceros Hornbill

2.3 “The Joint Youth Camp for Hornbills & Natural Resources Conservation” at Khao

Yai National Park (KYNP), 5-7 August 2004

To expose the children and villagers to different type of natural resources, the Joint

Youth Camp for Hornbills & Natural Resources Conservation was held at Khao Yai National

Park, Nakhonratchasrima Province. The group of 40 school children from around Budo

Sungai-Padi National Park who joined another group of 40 students from Khao Yai National

Park to learn and share knowledge and experience concerning wildlife and natural resources.

Hornbill Conservation & Education Center staff and children were preparing materials and

activities at Tapoh Center before participating the Joint Youth Camp for Hornbills & Natural

Resources Conservation.

The activities included:

1) Painting hornbills on T-shirts

2) Rehearsal of drama performance entitled “Loggers and Hornbills”

In front of the Budo Hornbill Conservation and Education Center

before taking journey to Khao Yai National Park

3) Games which create interaction among children and trainers

Lunch

4) Transfer messages on hornbills in Thailand

5) How to use and how to maintain binoculars

Children were studying hornbill food

Travel to KYNP by train to Bangkok and by bus to KYNP

Youth Camp for Hornbills & Natural Resource Conservation at KYNP

Registration

Welcome by the President of

Seub Nakhasathien Foundation

Indoor activities at KYNP

Outdoor activities: field trip to study important flora including medicinal plants

(by a renowned pharmacist and a National Park ranger) and fauna in Khao Yai National Park

An outdoor activity with a researcher of THAILAND HORNBILL

PROJECT was teaching children about “Hornbill food plant”.

2.4 Guardian of Hopea tree, 16-18 September 2004

The activity Guardian of Hopea tree was held between 16-18 September 2004 at

Hornbill Conservation & Education Center in Tapoh Village, Narathiwat Province. Twenty

children from four local schools and three youth in Tapoh Village participated. There were

lessons on forest ecology and important hornbill nest trees, i.e. Hopea spp. They also learned

about predator - prey relationships, food chain, medicinal and edible plants, ground cover and

canopy layers. Uses and misuses of the forest, edibles plants and endangered species were

discussed.

16-17 September 2004 Tree identification Children were introduced to the common tree species found in Budo Sungai-Padi National

Park (Tropical rainforest). Identification features, including leaves, flowers, fruit, seed, etc.

were taught.

Forest ecology & habitat

18 September 2004 Outdoor learning

Nature walks led by villagers (Mr. Asae Jaroo, Mr. Asae Masae, Mr. Hawa Kajay, Mr. Marohpee Kadaekae and Mr. Rohki Daree) who are research assistants of Thailand Hornbill Project (in picture: Mr. Asae Jaroo)

Along the trail, there were 10 stop-points for forest ecology and habitat learning

including medicinal plants, lichens, forest structure, saprophytes, Hornbill’s food trees; fig

tree and Hornbill nest trees; Hopea sp. Plant-insect relationship, such as wasp and fig tree

was a case study.