Decades of strict laws hadn't worked. Captive breeding programmes released over 200 birds into Bali Barat National Park across 18 years, but most died or were immediately poached. Rangers increased patrols. Poachers kept coming. In one raid, 78 birds were stolen directly from a breeding centre inside the national park.

Then conservationists tried something different. They stopped enforcing from above and started listening to communities.

Dr. Bayu Wirayudha (pictured), a Balinese vet and founder of Friends of the National Parks Foundation, went village to village across Nusa Penida – a small island off Bali's coast – making his case at weddings, ceremonies and community meetings. By 2006, all 35 villages had agreed to turn the island into a sanctuary.

The protection comes through awig-awig: traditional Hindu laws agreed upon by the entire community. Harm a Bali Myna, and you don't just pay a fine. You feed the whole village. You perform a public ceremony of apology at the temple. If neighbours refuse your food, you pay them cash instead.

The social cost became greater than any profit from poaching.

One study found anti-poaching compliance improved by nearly 1,200% compared to formal criminal law.

Former trappers became bird guides. Farmers planted fruit trees – in one village, the rule is two trees planted for every one cut. Villagers started monitoring nests instead of raiding them. Recently, conservationists recorded only the second natural cavity nest ever found on Nusa Penida – a sign the birds are beginning to sustain themselves.

The model has now spread back to mainland Bali, where a string of "Bali Myna villages" have adopted the same protections.