Geospatial Technologies for Climate Risk Assessment and Resilience in Hornbill Conservation

This chapter evaluates the use of geospatial tools in assessing climate risks and building resilience to hornbill conservation. As threats from climate change, habitat fragmentation, and anthropogenic pressures increase, geospatial tools, namely geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, and spatial modeling, have proven indispensable to monitoring and managing hornbill habitats. The combination of these technologies enables precise mapping of critical habitats, identification of climate vulnerability zones, and assessment of landscape connectivity to draw inferences about possible climate-driven shifts in hornbill distributions. Combining climate projections with ecological data enables conservation strategies to be more effectively targeted, with restoration of habitat and informed choice. However, geospatial technologies enable real-time monitoring and adaptive management to enable hornbill populations to be resilient to future climate challenges. Coupled with local community knowledge, these tools can add greatly to both conservation efforts and long-term ecosystem stability.