An international team of researchers is urging governments, philanthropies, and ocean investors to commit $14 billion to protect and restore one of the planet’s most vital yet overlooked marine ecosystems – kelp forests.

In a new study led by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the Kelp Forest Alliance, scientists have, for the first time, set a clear global funding benchmark for kelp conservation. The proposed investment underpins the Kelp Forest Challenge – an ambitious global mission to protect three million hectares and restore one million hectares of kelp forests by 2040.

Kelp forests, which fringe nearly a third of the world’s coastlines, are powerhouses of marine life. They absorb carbon, shelter fisheries, and support biodiversity valued at an estimated $500 billion annually. Yet these underwater forests are in steep decline: as much as 60% have vanished over the past fifty years, threatened by rising ocean temperatures, pollution, and sea urchin overgrazing.

The team’s US$14 billion figure draws from global conservation cost data and extensive expert consultations. It positions kelp restoration alongside high-profile ocean initiatives such as mangrove and coral reef conservation and aligns with the UN Climate Champions’ Ocean Breakthroughs Initiative.

The study – ‘Creating a global kelp forest conservation fundraising target: A 14-billion-dollar investment to “help the kelp”– has been published in the scientific journal, Biological Conservation.

Lead author Dr Aaron Eger, founder of the Kelp Forest Alliance, has said that putting a tangible price tag on kelp protection is key to unlocking action.

“Kelp forests are the fabric of our cold-water seas, but they’ve long been invisible in national and global conservation finance,” he said. “For every dollar invested in kelp conservation in Australia, our country invests ten to a hundred times more in coral reefs – even though two-thirds of Australians live right next to a kelp forest.”

He has gone on to describe the funding target as “ambitious but achievable” – a rallying point for governments, businesses, and communities to unite behind a shared vision for ocean recovery.

If realised, the investment could secure the future of kelp forests from Tasmania to Norway to California, strengthening coastal resilience, safeguarding marine biodiversity, and sustaining livelihoods for generations to come.

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