The Knobbed Hornbill, found nowhere else on Earth but Sulawesi, is losing the old trees it nests in. Help us protect it — and the wildlife of the Paccekke Education Forest.
High in the canopy of the Paccekke Education Forest, a Knobbed Hornbill (Julang Sulawesi, Rhyticeros cassidix) glides between the trees, a wild fig held in its great casqued bill. Found nowhere else on Earth but Sulawesi, this endemic giant is the forest's gardener — every seed it carries and drops becomes tomorrow's tree. But it is running out of home.
A stronghold under pressure
The 229-hectare UNISMUH Education Forest (KHDTK) in Desa Paccekke, Barru, is one of the hornbill's last strongholds — a forest it shares with ebony trees, Sulawesi macaques and deer. Hornbills nest only in the deep hollows of large, old trees, and those trees are vanishing. Poaching and shrinking habitat are pushing this species toward silence.
Protect the hornbill, and you protect the whole forest — every tree it plants is a gift to the future.
What your support will do
- Eyes in the forest — install camera traps to monitor hornbills, deer and other wildlife, and to deter poaching.
- New homes in the canopy — build and mount artificial nest boxes to replace the natural cavities the forest has lost.
- Guardians on the ground — train and support community rangers for anti-poaching patrols and awareness.
- A safe haven for deer — establish a deer (rusa) breeding enclosure to safeguard and recover local populations.
This is conservation rooted in the community and grounded in the land — the kind of work Yayasan Sabuk Hijau Indonesia exists to do. Stand with us, and help keep the Sulawesi Hornbill calling over Paccekke for generations to come.
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