Emma Bryce, Anthropocene, May 5, 2023
Until now, there have been no thorough estimates of the value of kelp forests. When researchers recently tallied it up, the figured they came up with was $500 billion a year.
Lush kelp forests that line long stretches of the world’s coastlines provide huge ecosystem services that benefit humanity to the tune of $500 billion a year.
This striking figure comes from the first ever global economic assessment of these macroalgae, finding that especially when it comes to providing habitat that supports fisheries and slurping up nitrogen pollution, these ecosystems have an enormously under-appreciated value in our lives.
There are over 100 kelp species, some of which grow as tall as the tallest rainforest trees, and fringe 25% of global coastlines. Yet until now there have been no thorough estimates of its value—which matters because we have no sense therefore of what the hidden costs of losing these underwater forests might be.
The researchers hope that putting a financial value on these services—building on top of kelp’s intrinsic cultural, recreational, and social value—will increase the momentum to protect these forests. “As governments and businesses around the world look to expand the ‘blue economy‘, I think now there’s a nice opportunity to value nature,” Eger says. “When we have these sort of evaluation figures, we can start to invest in and protect nature—kelp forests, in this case.”
Eger et. al. “The value of ecosystem services in global marine kelp forests.” Nature Communications. 2023.