Elephants are Reducing Carbon Emissions
Elephant conservation is not an African issue, it's a worldwide issue. Investing and elephants, is investing in the world's biodiversity. Elephants Alive https://elephantsalive.org
A recent post on South Africa’s Elephants Alive Instagram feed needs to be shared – everywhere!
Elephants Alive is a South African NGO committed to supporting the survival of elephants using science-based solutions. Note: The information in this post refers to the African Forest Elephant found in the rain forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. All elephant species are keystone species whose protection and survival should be part of the climate solution. The images in this post are mine and show the Savannah Elephant.
What do we mean when we say that Elephants are a keystone species?
A keystone species is an organism that defines an entire ecosystem. This means that if the species were to disappear, no other species would be able to fill the ecological niche left behind. Best case scenario the entire ecosystem would be forced to change in dramatic ways or worst case, cease to exist altogether.
So what is an elephant's contribution to the ecosystem?
One single African Forest Elephant is estimated to be worth more than $1.75 million U.S. dollars in carbon offsets. This equates to a net increase in carbon capture of 9,500 metric tons of CO2 per square kilometres of rainforest.
This means that a single African forest Elephant is effectively undoing emissions from 2,047 petrol cars for one year.
If the entire population is restored to its former number of 1.2 million - their planetary services would be worth $36 billion US.
That's the same amount proposed by U.S. President Joe Biden to slash carbon emissions in half by 2030! No need to invest Mr. President, our elephants will half the USA's carbon emissions for you!
Elephants are the architects of the African wilderness. We can't afford to lose them or the habitats they need to thrive. Elephant conservation is not an African issue, it's a worldwide issue. Investing and elephants, is investing in the world's biodiversity.
Elephants Alive @elephants alive with contributions from @nicholashalle @justin_sullivan, @Kaylaz.wildlife, @douda_bis. Original research by Chami et al (2020) published by the IMF.