Photo by Michael Behrens, Unsplash
9K tonnes – the amount of carbon each elephant can capture in its lifetime
Most of us learn about two species of elephant at school – the African and the Asian. Yet in 2021, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) formally recognised two distinct species of African elephants: the bush (savanna) elephant and the forest elephant. The latter is less bulky than its more well-known relative, and tends to roam in smaller groups and at lower densities. They are typically only seen when visiting openings in the forest to drink.
Forest elephants live in the humid, tropical forests of the Congo Basin and throughout West Africa. Feeding on lush leaves, seeds, fruit, and tree bark, they forage the landscape for food. Nicknamed “the gardeners of the Congo”, they consume huge amounts of vegetation and plant material, stomping on small trees and bushes as they move from place to place. Acting as forest engineers, they effectively remove faster-growing softwood trees from the landscape, helping to promote the growth of slower-growing, taller, higher density hardwoods that are capable of storing more carbon.
Infographic based on original design by GRID-Arendal 2020
Scientists modeling this process have come up with some incredible numbers. It has been estimated that by tilting the biological balance in favour of certain types of trees, disturbance by forest elephants (at their typical density) could increase aboveground biomass by up to 54 tonnes per hectare, with each elephant helping to capture over 9,000 tonnes of CO2 during an average lifetime.
The carbon capture services of Africa’s forest elephants have been valued at $150 billion per annum by Ralph Chami, former Assistant Director at the International Monetary Fund.
Scientists have also calculated that the disappearance of forests elephants entirely could see Central African rainforests lose seven percent of their biomass. This equates to a loss of nearly three billion tonnes of carbon – the equivalent of France’s anthropogenic CO2 emissions for 27 years. Such a disappearance is not altogether improbable – while more than 1 million forest elephants are once estimated to have roamed the jungles of Africa, the impact of illegal poaching and deforestation means there may now be fewer than 100,000 left.
Restoring African forest elephants in the Congo Basin Forest can sequester 13 MtCO2 per year. This is 4 x the total fossil fuel emissions by the DRC in 2022 (3.6 MtCO2/y), or almost double that of Congo (7.4 MtCO2/y) or 1.4 x that of Cameroon in 2022 (9.6 MtCO2/y) ¹
How do African forest elephants help store carbon?
- “Gardeners of the Congo”: African forest elephants play a crucial role in carbon sequestration by acting as “forest engineers.” As they consume vast amounts of vegetation and trample on smaller trees, they encourage the growth of slower-growing, carbon-dense hardwoods, which can store more carbon than fast-growing softwood species.
- Tree Diversity: Their foraging activities promote the balance of forest tree species, favoring those that contribute more to aboveground biomass. This ecological balance enables higher carbon storage. A single forest elephant can help capture over 9,000 tonnes of CO2 during its lifetime.
- Carbon Storage Impact: Studies estimate that the presence of forest elephants increases biomass by up to 54 tonnes per hectare, making them essential in maintaining the carbon-rich landscapes of the Congo Basin.
Current situation – what we need to do
Forest elephants are critically endangered due to poaching and deforestation. Conservation efforts to protect and restore African forest elephants could sequester 13 MtCO2 per year, which is more than four times the total fossil fuel emissions of the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2022. Protecting these “gardeners” is key to maintaining the rainforest’s ability to store carbon and address the climate emergency.
(1) Note: These species data are from Table 1 and the Supplementary Appendix 1 of Schmitz, O.J., Sylvén, M., Atwood, T.B. et al. Trophic rewilding can expand natural climate solutions.
Nat. Clim. Chang. 13, 324–333 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01631-6
Next steps
- Return to the main Climate Heroes page.
- Read all the original Climate Hero case studies in ‘Animating the Carbon Cycle: Supercharging Ecosystem Carbon Sinks to Meet the 1.5°C Climate Target’. Download the pdf here.
- Curious to learn more? Watch the video from the UN Climate Change Side Events at COP28: Bringing elephants into the room – why UNFCCC needs to put animals on the table.