Forest Elephants Are a Carbon Policy

Modelling suggests losing Congo Basin forest elephants would measurably reduce the forest's above-ground carbon storage.

By dispersing the seeds of large, dense-wooded trees and thinning smaller stems, forest elephants shift stand composition towards higher-carbon species. Remove them and the forest gradually converts to faster-growing, lighter-wooded trees.

The estimated carbon service per elephant runs into the millions of dollars at plausible carbon prices — an argument that is uncomfortable to make and unusually effective in rooms where ecology alone is not persuasive.