The world’s kelp needs our help. This is the united call from 12 of the world’s leading marine biologists, underwater explorers, and oceanographers, who have each added their signature to an open letter, this week, asking world leaders to adopt better protections for the ocean’s kelp forests.

Published on the eve of COP29, when leaders from across the world will gather in Baku, Azerbaijan to discuss the next steps on the climate change action pathway, the letter calls for consideration of the role kelp forests play in upholding both ecological and economical systems.

Twelve of the world’s leading names in ocean science, including oceanographer and National Geographic Explorer, Dr. Sylvia Earle have signed the open letter which also calls for strong political action at both a national and international level to rescue, restore, and conserve the kelp forests that populate 30% of the world’s coasts.

The signatories argue that kelp forests play a vital role in supporting biodiversity, human livelihoods, and essential ecosystem services but are under increasing threat from marine heatwaves, harvesting, pollution, and overfishing. 

Despite the growing public awareness of the role kelp plays within the marine ecosystem, the threats they are facing are growing. While bodies like the International Union for Conservation of Nature Seaweed Specialist Group and the Kelp Forest Challenge have dialled up advocacy for kelp’s protection on a global scale, the ‘social and ecological losses from kelp forest degradation continue to grow.’

“Political action will be required at national and international levels to coordinate and implement strategic, integrated, tangible protection measures for kelp forests globally,” Nur Arafeh-Dalmau, a post doctorate marine community ecologist at UCLA and Stanford, and the letter’s lead author writes on behalf of the signatories.

Most countries have, by now, committed to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and have pledged to effectively protect and manage 30% of marine ecosystems by 2030 – otherwise known as the 30×30 target. It’s true, however, that only 2.9% of the ocean is currently inside fully-protected Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). While these MPAs are widely recognised as the most effective tool for biodiversity conservation and climate resilience there appears to be a sliding scale of protections that are afforded within them.

Moreover, the letters argues, the Global Biodiversity Framework “does not specify which ecosystems should be prioritized” when it comes to the level of protections afforded to them.

Around the globe, sea kelp forests have had a lot to contend with. Around 35% of the world’s floating kelp forests are located in the waters of Latin American countries which, the letter states, “remain far from meeting the 2030 targets.”

In fact, Mexico has lost more than 50% of its kelp forests as a result of recent marine heatwaves. Meanwhile, Chile and Peru have witnessed large-scale degradation from direct extraction, “leading to drastic biodiversity loss.”

“Given climate projections of accelerating marine heatwaves throughout the 21st Century, governments, in consultation with local communities and stakeholders, should prioritize the protection of kelp forests,” states the letter. 

“Each country’s national environmental policies should aim to include the meaningful protection of 30% of its kelp forests by 2030, consistent with the Biodiversity Framework. Strategies should include expanding fully protected MPAs, improving the management and enforcement of existing MPAs, implementing targeted protection and restoration measures for over-harvested kelp populations, and identifying and protecting areas that are less affected by climate change for kelp ecosystems, ie. climate refugia.”

The letter’s signatories believe that by taking these actions, we will be able to enhance global biodiversity conservation, food security, and cultural and socioeconomic needs, leading to equitable outcomes for local and Indigenous coastal communities.

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