Elephant conservation safeguards forests as carbon sinks

The conservation of the endangered Asiatic elephant indirectly helps safeguard India’s forests as powerful carbon stores, according to a new study. Protecting the elephants serves a dual purpose, the study adds – it maintains forest integrity and indirectly enhances carbon sequestration in the tropical ecosystems.

The study, conducted by Noida-based Amity University researchers, was published in the ‘Journal of Threatened Taxa’. It assesses the relationship between elephant conservation efforts, the expansion of elephant reserves (ERs), and wildlife-associated carbon stock enhancement in India from 1992 to 2025. It points that from the early 1900s, rapid fragmentation of habitats due to developmental activities, agricultural expansion, and large-scale hunting for ivory caused a drastic decline in elephant populations. The growing use of elephants in the timber and military sectors further accelerated this reduction. The introduction of wildlife protection laws and the launch of Project Elephant in 1992 led to a gradual recovery in population.

The study points out that elephants are ecosystem engineers, and their activities, such as tree uprooting, trampling, and dung deposition, can enhance carbon sequestration and storage. Furthermore, protecting elephant habitats helps conserve diverse tropical forests, which are among the most carbon-dense ecosystems in the world. Conservation efforts have the potential to deliver significant co-benefits for climate change. Landscapes in Asia, which are home to the Asiatic Elephant, are not only highly diverse but also among the most carbon-dense in the tropics. As a result, safeguarding these forests through elephant conservation could contribute to climate change mitigation. Considering the critical role of protected areas in carbon sequestration and the importance of conserving elephants, it is evident that exploring the synergies between these two priorities could yield substantial benefits for both biodiversity and climate change mitigation.

As mentioned in the study, the Asiatic elephants in India occupy diverse landscapes that vary from dense tropical forests to open grasslands and agroforestry mosaics, reflecting the species’ wide ecological adaptability. In hilly regions and northeastern states, elephants inhabit tropical moist forests characterized by high rainfall, dense evergreen and semi-evergreen vegetation, and rich biodiversity. Central and eastern regions are dominated by tropical dry deciduous forests with moderate rainfall and fragmented habitats. Along the Himalayan foothills, elephants thrive in tropical moist deciduous forests and riverine grasslands that offer abundant forage and serve as important migration routes. The floodplains of major rivers support extensive grassland–savanna–woodland mosaics, which are vital for seasonal congregation and breeding. Beyond natural habitats, elephants also traverse human-modified landscapes such as tea gardens, agricultural fields, and plantations that connect fragmented forest patches but often lead to human–elephant conflict.

During the initial two decades of Project Elephant, there was a synchronized rise in both notifications and elephant numbers. This supports the hypothesis that establishing protected areas provides the initial security necessary for megaherbivores to perform as ecosystem engineers. However, a significant finding showed declining recorded population in 2025 despite the stabilization of notified ERs at 33. This suggests that habitat quality and functional corridor connectivity may be more critical for long-term population stability than ere notification of administrative boundaries. Since elephants facilitate carbon sequestration by thinning smaller trees and promoting carbon-dense hardwoods, the recent population dip could lead to a reduction in the ‘carbon driver’ efficiency of Indian forests. Data suggests that conservation policy must shift from ‘notification of reserves’ to ‘habitat restoration and corridor protection’ to maintain high carbon sequestration rates.

The study says that it is important to note that ERs are not uniformly protected as legally designated national parks or tiger reserves. Their effectiveness in conserving biomass and carbon stocks varies depending on enforcement, land-use pressures, and ecological condition. Therefore, attributing carbon stock changes directly to designation may lead to overgeneralization unless supported by site-specific ecological assessments.

The study concludes that the expansion of India’s ER network between 1992 and 2025 has contributed to the stabilization of forest carbon stocks primarily through reduced deforestation and improved land-use governance. While elephants play an important ecological role, the findings emphasize that conservation outcomes depend more on habitat quality, connectivity, and effective management than on administrative designation alone. Future studies should integrate ecological variables such as invasive species, forest structure, and soil carbon dynamics to provide a more comprehensive assessment.