Unseen and unheard: the invisibility of kelp forests in international environmental governance

Abstract

Kelp forests are one of the most extensive coastal ecosystems in the world. They serve a myriad of ecological functions, support substantial biodiversity, and contribute to a multitude of services essential to our contemporary society. Unfortunately, they are in decline. International governance regimes and institutions play an important role in addressing threats to marine ecosystems and combatting declines. However, not all ecosystems receive the same level of global governance attention. There is a growing interest in coastal ecosystems, and an overall increase in conservation targets and restoration programmes on many international platforms. We demonstrate that kelp forests consistently receive the least global governance attention compared to other dominant marine habitats. To address the disconnect between kelp science and environmental governance, we make five recommendations for the future.

Intensifying marine heatwaves and limited protection threaten global kelp forests

“…Kelp forests remain largely excluded from most international conservation policies 8,57 , despite their enormous contribution to earth's biodiversity 12,13 and provisioning of ecosystem services 20 . Nations have an opportunity to harness, protect, and restore kelp forests 58 , not only for their function as biogenic habitats and biodiversity hot spots 13 , but also to support their role in carbon sequestration and mitigation of climate change 59 .…”