Forest elephants — a critically endangered species — play a central role in the forest ecosystems of the Congo Basin. Threatened by poaching and the destruction of their habitat, they have lost nearly 60% of their numbers in a few decades. During the One forest summit which took place on March 1 and 2, 2023 in Libreville, Gabon, co-organized by France and Gabon, the importance of preserving forest elephant populations for sustainable forest management tropical plants was recalled. The “Forests and Elephants” symposium presented ongoing research on this central species for the proper functioning of tropical forests with a particular focus on the forests of the Congo Basin.
During this symposium, work on the ecology of this species was presented but also the development of new techniques allowing a better understanding of the functioning and monitoring of tropical forests, as well as the contribution of the human and social sciences to better understand the coexistence between large wildlife, human activities and local communities. The presentation of research also carried out on other species of elephants made it possible to put into perspective the delicate coexistence between human populations and large fauna in the world.
This symposium organized by the Center for Ecology and Conservation Sciences (CESCO) of the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) in collaboration with the National Agency for National Parks (ANPN) took place on the site of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris on November 2 and 3.
Find all the information as well as the proceedings of the symposium on the Symposium web page by following this link