Africa’s forest-dwelling hornbills — vital seed-dispersers in the forests of West and Central Africa — have won long-overdue international protection after countries approved a proposal to regulate their global trade.
The decision, adopted on Wednesday at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) Conference of the Parties (CoP20) in Uzbekistan, will list all species of the genera Ceratogymna and Bycanistes in Appendix II.
The move introduces mandatory monitoring, reporting and permitting for any international trade — a significant shift for African hornbills, which until now had never been included in the convention despite growing evidence of unregulated global demand.
The continent’s distinctive hornbills play a vital role in keeping ecosystems alive across West and Central Africa’s forests, BirdLife International said. They feast on fruit and disperse the seeds — sometimes many kilometres away — helping forests regenerate and keeping landscapes healthy.
For years, many Asian hornbill species have been listed under Cites, imposing restrictions on the trade of these birds across international borders and helping curb poaching.
“Yet no African hornbill has ever been listed, despite mounting evidence of unregulated international trade,” the non-profit avian conservation organisation said. “That gap has left some of Africa’s most iconic forest hornbills increasingly vulnerable.”
This year, a coalition of African countries, including Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo, sought to change that with their proposal to Cites CoP20.
Being listed in Appendix II will require strict monitoring and regulation of international trade to ensure this threat does not jeopardise the survival of Africa’s hornbills.
Alex Berryman, a senior red list officer at BirdLife International, described the listing as “a decisive step” toward safeguarding these iconic birds, many of which are increasingly threatened by international trade and habitat loss.
The recent uplisting of the black-casqued hornbill to near-threatened “underscores the urgency of action required”, he added.
The push for regulation follows mounting concern over a surge in demand for hornbill skulls and casques. BirdLife said that new research has documented more online listings and international shipments, with hunters in some regions reporting that foreign buyers are driving local offtake.
Without Cites regulation, there are no global safeguards to ensure the trade is traceable or sustainable, leaving authorities without the tools to assess sustainability or prevent overharvesting.
Biologically, hornbills are especially vulnerable: females wall themselves into nest cavities for months during breeding and rely entirely on males for food. When a male bird is hunted, it can mean the loss of an entire brood.
The black-casqued hornbill illustrates these pressures. Once listed as least concern, it was uplisted to near-threatened this year due to habitat loss and trade increasingly threaten populations across West and Central Africa.
Its story has “become a symbol of why stronger international protection is urgently needed for African hornbills”, said BirdLife.
The new Appendix II listing does not ban trade outright but creates a system of checks intended to prevent international commerce from undermining wild populations. It will also help enforcement agencies distinguish African hornbill parts from those of Asian species already protected under Cites: a resemblance that has complicated policing efforts.
Legal protection is only one part of the answer. BirdLife’s ongoing work through Safe Havens — working with indigenous peoples and local communities to safeguard nest trees, monitor breeding pairs and secure forest habitat — has become one of the most effective long-term approaches to securing the future of Asian hornbills.
For the coalition of African countries that championed the proposal, the listing represents a significant tool for slowing the escalation of trade pressure. It also sets the stage for stronger, more coordinated conservation across continents, BirdLife added.
“This Cites decision marks a turning point … We now have an opportunity to create a safer future for hornbills across Africa and to strengthen the global efforts already underway to protect them. Most importantly, this decision will help ensure that these extraordinary birds continue to thrive.”
A coalition of African nations has secured new Cites controls on the international trade of hornbills amid concerns over habitat loss and surging demand for body parts
