Protecting Elephants could Encourage Forest Growth in the Central African Region

Central Africa need elephants to increase her Oxygen and food productivity hence, fight climate change.

Today the forest in the Central African region is disappearing very fast. “Between 1990 and 2000, approximately 91,000 km² of forests were lost. That represents an area about 3 times the size of Belgium”.

The significant deforestation and the decline in the elephant populations is having enormous impacts on the biodiversity of the region. In Cameroon where, I base my research, 13% of the forest has already gone (between 1990 and 2005) and the Central African region has lost 60% of its elephant population to poaching in the last 10 Years (Maisels et Al. 2013).

         Elephants spread almost all the trees at the Bouba Ndjida national park in Cameroon

 

 The CITES MIKE Programme says, The Central African Region is the highest zone to have recorded illegal elephant killings, since 2002 comparatively to other zones of observation in Africa. In 2013, Cameroon experienced the massacre of 400 elephants in the Bouba Ndjida National park.

There are only 90 000 to 150 000 elephants now left in the Central African Region. This remark is drawn from comparing different reports about African elephants from: IUCN, CITES, African Elephant Specialist Group, Elephant Trade Information system (ETIS) and the Elephant Database.

"A few trees are declining because elephant disappear is of course detrimental- have massive impact on the forest ecosystem. However, elephants going extinct means that the competitive balance of many many species, arguably over 100 in central Africa will be tipped in favor of species poor idiotically” Highlights of Blake and Campos-Arceiz ,authors of a paper on African and Asian elephant seed dispersal in Acta Oecologica.

Elephant dung germinating plants in the Ntem forest of Cameroon

 Elephants are termed by IUCN and WWF as ecologically important species, which play a vital role in supporting other species and ecosystems. Elephants have a great seed nursing and transportation potential, necessary for forests growth. The heavy weight land Mammals are among the greatest seed dispersers of the earth, findings confirmed by recent studies from scientists. 

Seed dispersal, ecologists believe is the movement or transport of seeds away from the parent plant through biotic (living things) or abiotic vectors. Elephants are biotic vectors and transport thousands of seeds through their digestive system and send the seeds out through their guts.
The dung then serves as incubator for the seeds to germinate absorbing Water; heat and other gases like CO₂ it may need for its survival. 

Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz, believes ‘African forest elephants are the ultimate seed dispersers’ and confirms they disperse seeds in the most efficient way.

From the ecological perspective, scientists argue that elephants are very important for forest growth because they spread seeds hundreds of kilometers away from the mother plant. The more their population and habitat increase the greater the forest expansion. Elephants in the Congo are able to spread seeds as far as 57 kilometers (35.4 miles) from the mother plant.

20 percent of global warming is caused by deforestation. If REDD+ the UN programme for reforestation, could join forces with the governments of the Central African (CA ) Region and other NGOs to stop deforestation and poaching, then that will be an impulsive solution to fight against climate change. 

Why not food security? “Forest and tree ecosystems underpin the provision of a range of services, and as such, when appropriately managed, can make vital contributions to food production”. Says Foli et al, in their Environmental Evidence paper 2014. The paper also added the land productivity “depends on pollinator diversity.” it estimates 46 per cent of total agricultural land still retains at least 10 per cent tree cover.

But before that, they have to empower the government by helping to eradicate corruption. According to Transparency International’s CPI for 2013, there is likely to be high level of deforestation and logging in countries where governance is weak and vice versa. Most of the Countries in the CA zone are among the most corrupt countries in the world.