According to research, the fate of African forest elephants, such as those found in Ivindo National Park, in Gabon, is directly linked to that of ebony trees
It is often said that destiny acts in mysterious ways. In the heart of the Congo Basin, in Central Africa, the second largest tropical forest in the world, this phrase turns out to be true – and, at the same time, a huge pile of poop.
The fates of ebony trees, a critically endangered mammal species, Cameroonian communities and a major U.S. guitar maker are all inextricably intertwined. This future, however, was not read in tea leaves or the stars, but rather obtained from a new type of divination tool: elephant dung.
Habitat loss and, mainly, the illegal trade in ivory have contributed to an estimated decline of 80% in the continental population of African forest elephants in the last three decades, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which classifies them as close to extinction in the wild.
The decline of this elephant population could be catastrophic for the survival of ebony trees throughout the region, after camera traps and scat analyzes revealed, in what are unprecedented conclusions, the fundamental role of elephants in the dispersal and germination of their seeds.
Livestock can consume the fruits of the ebony tree and transport its seeds for kilometers before excreting them on the forest floor, increasing the range of dispersal and reducing the likelihood of loss of genetic diversity through inbreeding. Another benefit is that rodents are deterred from eating seeds that are coated in feces.
Surveillance camera footage revealed that elephants were feeding on ebony fruit (CNN/Inside Africa)
A study carried out nine years ago by the Congo Basin Institute (CBI) at UCLA found that there were 68% fewer ebony seedlings in forested regions without elephants, leading to the conclusion that, to paraphrase the lyrics of Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, the destinies of ebony and ivory are united in perfect harmony.
“The results are quite frightening”, reacts Eric Onguene, CBI investigative assistant, speaking to CNN.
“At first, we thought that the (ebony) seeds could, most likely, be spread by all kinds of animals. We hoped that they would regenerate naturally. However, if the elephant disappears, we should expect a loss, an extinction, of the ebony species.”
Also known as African persimmon, ebony fruit has a texture that resembles meat (CNN / Inside Africa)
Invest in the inevitable
The research was financed, in large part, by Taylor Guitars, of California. It immediately raises the question: Why would a musical instrument maker spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on scientific research 8,000 miles away?
The answer lies in the dark, often jet-black heartwood of the ebony tree. Dense, durable and smooth, its mirror finish has long been used on guitar bridges and fingerboards. It’s something that helped propel El Cajon-based Taylor Guitars — founded by Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug in 1974 — to global success, with artists like Taylor Swift and Jason Mraz among those who have played their creations on those instruments.
As co-owner of the Crelicam ebony factory in the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé, Taylor became even more concerned when he realized that a key resource was becoming increasingly difficult to find.
The commercial value of ebony has meant that trees across the 3.7 million square kilometer area have become a prime target for felling by some of the 80 million people who live in the region.
“In most places where ebony was mined, the supply had run out,” Matthew LeBreton, director of the Crelicam factory, tells CNN.
For Taylor, the subsequent decision to fund the investigation came down to a three-word mantra that became a business principle: invest in the inevitable.
Ebony’s economic value contributed to the tree’s decline in the Congo Basin (CNN/Inside Africa)
“We woke up one day and thought, ‘Oh, boy. This isn’t going to last forever,” Taylor tells CNN.
“I hate to use the word sustainable in a flippant way, but we can say that this is not sustainable: the trees will end. So we have to do something… It’s inevitable that the trees will end, so I’m going to invest in planting trees.”
What began in 2016 as a simple intelligence gathering mission ended up turning into a collaborative effort led by the CBI, which was called Project Ebony. It is a partnership between businesses, local communities and scientists, working to ensure the long-term prosperity of the ebony tree.
It’s an effort driven by one of the project’s early research findings: ebony trees don’t grow quickly. As seedlings take up to 100 years to reach full maturity, the CBI devised a plan to distribute seeds among indigenous Baka communities, who share the basin’s forests with elephants.
“To protect the Congo Basin ecosystem, you should not simply decree protection or put a police officer in front of every tree,” says CBI researcher Zac Tchoundjeu to CNN.
“It is necessary to involve the local population and show them what their interests are in carrying out this domestication, as it meets their needs”.
Ebony’s high density and durability make it ideal for guitar fingerboards (CNN / Inside Africa)
A kind generation
Tchoundjeu’s assessment touches on a delicate question: how do you convince people to plant seeds from trees they will never sit in the shade of?
To facilitate the partnership, Baka communities were given ownership of the planted ebony trees, as well as seeds from other fruit and medicinal trees, including avocado and mango, which grow considerably faster, giving them access to products that can be consumed, used or sold in the short term.
There are other more intangible benefits. Locals learned agricultural techniques in plant nurseries, creating jobs and skills that are already benefiting the 13 partner communities Project Ebony works with.
“It completely changed our lives,” Samuel Bambo Mempong, a farmer from the Baka indigenous village of Bifolone, on the edge of the Dja Fauna Reserve, tells CNN.
“It gave me knowledge that I didn’t have. I will also train other people, in other places. In doing so, I will return home with other advantages.”
“The money will go to my descendants,” says Mempong. The first ebony tree planted on his land, which is two and a half hectares, is already seven years old. “My children, then my grandchildren. They are the ones who will benefit”, he adds.
The Ebony Project consists of the planting of ebony, but also fruit and medicinal trees by the Baka communities (CNN / Inside Africa)
As the Ebony Project celebrates its tenth anniversary, almost 50,000 ebony trees have been planted in its name. In addition to this, there are more than 34 thousand fruit trees. Taylor has no intention of stopping there.
“I hope that, in 10 years, we will perhaps have reached the mark of one million trees”, he points out.
“This is a project that, above all, points in a direction. There will be other people, better, smarter, faster, richer, taking on similar projects. I just want to leave more options for the next generations than we have today.”
It is a principle that is replicated in Mempong.
“We don’t want to destroy the forest anymore,” he says.
“We want to harvest the fruits of the forest in a sustainable way. When our time passes, our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will inherit the same forest.”
