Study confirms that Gabon is the largest stronghold for critically
endangered African forest elephants
Science Daily
November 18, 2021
The most comprehensive survey conducted of elephant numbers in the Central
African nation of Gabon since the late 1980s has found elephants occurring
in higher numbers than previously thought.
The study, which was conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS),
Gabon's National Park Agency (ANPN) and Vulcan using a new non-invasive
survey technique, estimates that 95,000 forest elephants (Loxodonta
cyclotis) now live in Gabon, confirming it as the principal stronghold for
this species, which is considered Critically Endangered by IUCN.
The technical improvements enabled a more accurate estimate than previous
methods confined to dung counts.
The findings provide hope for the future of the species and the impact that
conservation-focused policies can have in encouraging wildlife protection
if effectively implemented. The study's results, published in the journal
Global Ecology and Conservation, mark the first-known DNA-based assessment
of a free-ranging large mammal in Africa.
Said Emma Stokes, WCS Regional Director for Central Africa and a co-author
of the study: "These results underscore the importance of Gabon as a
critical stronghold for forest elephants -- containing some 60-70 percent
of Africa's forests elephants. Gabon, together with the northern Republic
of Congo, probably hold as many as 85 percent of remaining forest elephants
-- in large and relatively stable populations. With significant declines in
forest elephants reported across much of the rest of the Congo Basin, these
two nations will determine the future for the forest elephant in Africa."
President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon said: "Managing forests, protecting
our parks and fighting organised criminal and terrorist groups, who plunder
our natural resources, is not easy.
It requires constant vigilance, technical knowhow, logistical capacity,
sustainable funding and most importantly, courageous, dedicated,
incorruptible forest managers."
Lee White, Minister of Water and Forests, the Sea, the Environment charged
with Climate Planning and Land Use Plan, said: "These results demonstrate
that Gabon, under the active leadership of President Ali Bongo Ondimba, has
been able to buck the trend of forest elephant decline. This is down to the
courage and dedication of our national parks rangers, who are very much in
the line of fire. In Africa there is a clear link between healthy elephant
numbers and natural resource governance -- most countries that have lost
their elephant populations have also experienced civil war and
instability."
Christian Tchemambela, ANPN Executive Secretary, said: "The data on the
forest elephant population is now clearer. This is a big step forward. Our
teams have developed more reliable methods, particularly in our genetics
laboratory. This scientific evidence can now be used to support
decision-making."
The team used spatial capture-recapture (SCR) techniques based on
non-invasive molecular sampling from dung. Unlike savannah elephants
(Loxodonta africana), which can be accurately counted by aerial surveys,
forest elephants often live deep in rainforests making their populations
more difficult to estimate. African forest elephants were recently
acknowledged by IUCN as a separate species from savannah elephants.
The study found that Gabon has not only more forest elephants than any
other country but also the largest intact habitat in the species' range,
with elephants found over more than 250,000 square kilometers (96,500
square miles) which represents some 90 percent of the country.
Although elephants were found across Gabon, the highest elephant densities
were found in relatively flat areas where there was more suitable elephant
habitat available (i.e. forests or forest-savannah mosaics). The lowest
elephant densities were found in more hilly terrain or in areas with less
suitable elephant habitat (i.e. near cities, or roads).
The team found low elephant densities immediately adjacent to international
borders. Neither protected areas nor human pressure in Gabon strongly
predict elephant densities. This means that good elephant habitat is not
necessarily restricted to protected areas.
Said the lead author of the study, Alice Laguardia of WCS: "Our findings
offer a useful nationwide baseline and status update for forest elephants
that will inform adaptive management and stewardship of one of the last
remaining forest elephant strongholds. These results are of interest to
local, national, and international decision-makers concerned with the
conservation of this species and its habitat, with the important ecological
role of forest elephants on climate regulation potential of forests, and
with forest elephants as a useful indicator for healthy, intact and
well-governed forests."
But it was not all good news, with researchers reporting that pockets of
low elephant density from recent poaching events remain and have yet to
recover.
Across Central Africa, forest elephants have been decimated by ivory
poachers in recent years across their range. Gabon is unique in the region
in having elephants still distributed at relatively high densities across
most of the country. With the exception of Gabon and parts of northern
Congo, many other countries have experienced catastrophic declines in
forest elephant populations over the last two decades: a WCS-led study
released in 2014 documented a 65 percent decline in forest elephant numbers
between 2002 and 2013.
Elephants can act as a useful indicator of healthy forests and that good
management of forests both inside and outside of protected areas can have
benefits for both climate and biodiversity. A 2019 study linked forest
elephant presence to significantly greater carbon storage through their
browsing that effectively thins the forest of smaller trees, thus promoting
growth of larger, more carbon rich trees.
"We believe conservation efforts must be founded on solid data," said Lara
Littlefield, Executive Director of Partnerships & Programs at Vulcan. "The
2016 Great Elephant Census of savannah elephants led to support for
programs that benefitted threatened populations and communities. We are
confident this important new study will lead to targeted efforts to protect
endangered forest elephants."
Funding for this critical work was provided by Vulcan, a Seattle company
founded by the late philanthropist Paul G. Allen and his sister Jody Allen.
Other funders include Assala Energy Ltd. (UK); the World Bank under the
GeFaCHE project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), (USA);
Gabonese Government and the Gabonese National Parks Agency (ANPN) (Gabon).
Journal Reference: Nationwide abundance and distribution of African
forest elephants across Gabon using non-invasive SNP genotyping. Global
Ecology and Conservation, 2021; e01894
DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01894
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/11/211118203716.htm