The Ebony Project – Conservation of Guineo-Congolian forest ebony

The Ebony Project – Conservation  of Guineo-Congolian forest ebony (Diospyros crassiflora)

Partners: The Regents of the University of California (UCLA), Congo Basin Institute (CBI)
Years: 2020-2021

The Ebony Project is a collaboration between CBI and Taylor Guitars to improve the conservation status of Guineo-Congolian forest ebony — Diospyros crassiflora (VU) — and create a sustainable supply chain for the high value tree.

The Ebony Project is an innovative collaboration between CBI and Taylor Guitars to improve the conservation status of Guineo-Congolian forest ebony—Diospyros crassiflora (VU) — and create a sustainable supply chain for the high value tree.

The project objectives are:
1) Work with communities to create a scalable program for the sustainable production and stewardship of ebony seedlings in rural areas;
2) Model Guineo-Congolian forest ebony distribution to better understand sustainable harvesting rates and appropriate planting areas;
3) Understand the basic ecology of ebony necessary to enhance natural reproduction and dispersal, and test restoration approaches to determine the most successful methods;
4) Test alternative propagation approaches, including tissue culture, to identify optimal conditions for cultivating ebony.