New efforts to protect African forest elephants in Gabon

Critically endangered forest elephants play a key role in conserving rainforests that are crucial wildlife habitats and carbon stores, experts in the animals' stronghold say.

Officials in Gabon, central Africa, are implementing measures to try to protect the elephants, other wildlife such as gorillas and chimps, and the carbon-rich Congo Basin rainforest.

These range from protected areas and sustainable forestry to boosting ecotourism and installing electric fences to keep them away from crops – and conflict with humans.

A survey conducted by Gabon's National Parks Agency (ANPN) and Wildlife Conservation released last year estimated there were 95,000 African forest elephants in Gabon.

That is much higher than previously thought and makes it the stronghold for the species, which has suffered severe declines across its central African range, largely due to poaching for ivory.

The elephants are also threatened by habitat loss from deforestation and conversion of land for crops for a growing population.

It is estimated 60-70 per cent of the world's African forest elephants, a different species from the continent's savannah elephants, live in Gabon, where they are found across 90 per cent of the country, the research found.

Omer Ntougou, from the Anpn,saidtheelephants,along with gorillas and chimps, are themostimportantanimalsfor protecting the habitat as they eatfruitandspreadtheseedsfor new trees in their dung as they move through the rainforest.

He described elephants as "the first planter of the forest", and said: "If the elephant disappears, the forest will disappear. It's very important for biodiversity, we're explaining to local people that if you kill elephants, you will kill the forest 20 or 30 years or a century later." He said the forest, which covers 88 per cent of Gabon, is importantforstoringcarbon,as well as for providing resources such as timber and traditional medicines.

The government has implementedlawsonsustainableforestry and says it has achieved near zero deforestation, in sharp contrast to some other countries in the Congo Basin.