We need kelp: how rewilding kelp forests can combat climate change

By Scott Bohachyk, Ocean Wise Director of Seaforestation

When faced with the threat of the climate crisis, it can be difficult to know where to begin. But it’s important to not lose hope, because hope drives action - and immediate action is what we need to save the planet.

In 2021, World Rewilding Day was launched by the Global Rewilding Alliance to raise awareness of human efforts to help nature recover. This year’s theme is “turning hope into action,” one that resonates with all of us at Ocean Wise.  Because while it’s exciting to see nature-based solutions, like tree planting, gain global popularity, hope for our planet may just lie at the bottom of our ocean.

Some ocean-based NGOs, including Ocean Wise, are actively working to restore, cultivate, and protect the world’s underwater forests.

Kelp forests offer massive potential for drawing down carbon from the atmosphere. In fact, as some of the fastest growing organisms on the planet, kelp forests have the potential to sequester large amounts of carbon dioxide.

Restoring kelp — or Seaforestation — also has incredible benefits for biodiversity as seaweed forests foster beautiful and diverse ecosystems that provide habitat, food, and oxygen to thousands of species including herring, octopuses, sea otters, and sea lions. These towering kelp canopies also help shelter animals from the effects of ocean acidification by balancing the pH of the surrounding waters.

Kelp restoration also provides opportunities for Indigenous-led coastal stewardship and economic potential through the sustainable harvest of kelp and cultural connection that many First Nations have with kelp in Canada and around the world. It is suggested the economic benefits of kelp forests currently range from $64,000 to $147,000 per hectare a year.

Despite this potential, “blue carbon” — the natural capture of carbon in marine environments — remains a niche solution within the arsenal of climate actions. Not to mention, many of the planet’s most important kelp forests have been degraded because of human activity. A lack of funding, regulatory alignment and public awareness is holding us back to realizing the full potential that seaweed has to offer in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss. Ocean Wise is working to advance innovative financing models and improve regulatory frameworks to make restoration projects more feasible and effective.

In February of this year, the Ocean Wise Seaforestation Initiative turned our hope into a small, but impactful action for our ocean. After carefully cultivating Sugar Kelp at the Ocean Wise Kelp Nursey in West Vancouver, we successfully planted the kelp off the B.C. Coast, where it’s continuing to grow and thrive.

This is a huge milestone for kelp restoration. This project provides proof of concept for both the ability to cultivate viable kelp in a lab setting, as well as the efficacy of using oyster shells as a natural substrate for promoting kelp growth.

We’re already planning and prepping for another season of growth in the nursery, ready to use what we’ve learned to outplant 5ha of kelp in B.C. in 2025.  

To help us continue this important Seaforestation work to restore these essential underwater forests, please consider sharing your hope for the ocean by making a donation. As little as $1 can help plant a single kelp.

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