Image of the European Fan Palm in Burundi. Photo by Ferdinand Mbonihankuye, used with permission

This article, written by Burundian journalist Rénovat Ndabashinze, was published as part of the training on Climate Justice in Africa.

Biodiversity degradation has numerous consequences. This process disrupts the entire natural supply chain. Several tree species are now highly endangered and at risk of disappearing, even in Africa.

During the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Colombia, COP16, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reported that several tree species are now at risk of extinction. In Burundi, such is the case for the European Fan Palm (Chamaerops Humilis), which has lost an essential part of its life cycle.

No elephants, no European Fan Palm reproduction

The European Fan Palm is a fruit tree found in Rusizi National Park, Bubanza Province, 15 kilometers north of Bujumbura, on the border between Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Although this area was once an elephant sanctuary, they disappeared in the 1990s due to an armed conflict, upsetting the park’s ecological balance.

Environmental experts believe the disappearance of elephants from Rusizi National Park has caused the European Fan Palm’s potential extinction. Albert Mbonerane, the country’s former environment minister and a current environmental activist, told Global Voices that, by feeding on the European Fan Palm’s fruits, the elephants played their part in this endemic species’ life cycle. He explained:

Ces fruits contiennent des graines qu'ils ne pouvaient digérer. Ainsi, ces dernières se retrouvaient dans leurs bouses, ici et là, et redonnaient naissance à de nouveaux arbres. Il y a plus d’une vingtaine d’années, le Burundi comptait plusieurs dizaines d’éléphants dans le parc national de la Rusizi. Mais ce n’est plus le cas.

The fruit contains seeds that elephants can’t digest. The seeds end up in the elephant dung before growing into new trees. Decades ago, Burundi had dozens of elephants in Rusizi National Park. However, this is no longer the case.

Elephants are also victims of the armed conflict

Following the coup d'état against Melchior Ndadaye, the winner of the July 1993 presidential elections, the Burundian civil war broke out on October 21, 1993, lasting 12 years until May 2005. At that time, poachers and rebels killed the elephants in this protected zone. According to Mbonerane:

Des avions de l'armée régulière pilonnaient souvent des positions rebelles dans cette réserve. A la fin des affrontements, plusieurs squelettes d’éléphants ont été découverts dans ce parc.

Regular army planes often shelled rebel positions in this reserve. Once the fighting was over, several elephant skeletons were discovered in the park.

Léonidas Hatungimana, Director General of the Burundian Office for the Protection of the Environment (OBPE), added:

Le dernier éléphant survivant de cette guerre est tué en 2000. Ce sont ces animaux qui étaient, en grande partie, à la base de  la multiplication de ces faux-palmiers.

The last surviving elephant of the war was killed in 2000. These animals were primarily responsible for propagating the European Fan Palm.

Human factors

With a population of over 14 million, Burundi had a demographic growth rate of 1.28 percent in 2023. The projected growth rate for 2025 is 2.44 percent. Almost 15 percent of the population, or more than 2 million people, live in urban areas.

This population growth also threatens the European Fan Palm. A citizen from the Buringa commune anonymously denounced the expansion of food and industrial croplands into areas of the park: corn, bean, manioc, cotton, and sugar cane fields. He says local residents collect seeds from the European Fan Palm’s fruits and grind them up:

La farine est utilisée pour des fins alimentaires ou thérapeutiques. Même ces fruits sont désormais cueillis et consommés par la population. Ce qui limite leur reproduction.

Flour is used for food and therapeutic purposes. The local population even picks and eats these fruits, limiting their reproduction.

Also, residents frequently use the European Fan Palm in their traditional ways of life. Oscar Kabura, an octogenarian from Burunga, explained to Global Voices:

C’est avec ses feuillages qu’on construit les clôtures de nos maisons. Et les feuillages sont utilisés pour la fabrication des nattes, des paniers, des corbeilles, etc…

We use the foliage to build fences around our homes and make mats, baskets, and waste paper baskets.

Anastasie, a local resident in her forties, says she can easily make enough money to support her family by selling baskets made from the European Fan Palm. As for its contribution towards biodiversity, she acknowledged:

Cette espace occupé par les faux-palmiers abritait beaucoup d’espèces animales dans le temps, notamment des antilopes, des lapins, des perdrix, des hippopotames qui y venaient souvent pour brouter, etc… C’est là même que vivaient les éléphants. Mais aujourd’hui, aucun éléphant n’y est présent.

The European Fan Palm area was once home to several animal species, especially antelopes, rabbits, partridges, and hippopotamuses, which often grazed there. Elephants also once lived there, but they are no longer present.

Léonidas Hatungimana, the OBPE director general, unveiled plans to reintroduce elephants in Rusizi National Park’s protected areas, potentially preventing the European Fan Palm’s extinction and attracting tourists. He stated:

Nous avons commandité une étude pour voir si les conditions sont encore favorables à ces gros mammifères.

We have commissioned a study to determine whether the conditions for these large mammals are still suitable.

The European Fan Palm’s vital role in Burundian nature and people’s everyday lives reinforces the urgent need to restore an ecological balance that combines environmental protection with economic security.