Sea rewilding
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Sea rewilding (also known as marine rewilding) is an area of environmental conservation activity which focuses on rewilding, restoring ocean life and returning seas to a more natural state. Healthy seas sequester carbon. Globally only 13 per cent of ocean waters are still wild.[2] Rewilding marine and coastal ecosystems offer potential ways to mitigate climate change.[3][4] There are a range of organisations and projects internationally tackling this area of climate challenge work.[5] Sea rewilding projects are currently less common than those focusing on rewilding land, and seas are under increasing stress from 'The Blue Economy' – commercial activities which further stress the marine environment.[6]
Seagrass
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Seagrass meadows store carbon dioxide. More than 90 per cent of the UK's historic seagrass meadows have been lost.[7][8] Restoring meadows could offset carbon emissions and provide habitat for numerous fish and shellfish species.[9] Research into seagrass, which covers about one per cent of the sea floor suggests that it may be delivering 15–18 per cent of carbon storage in the ocean.[10][11] Meadows have been declining since the 1930s and are being lost at an alarming rate.[12] Due to their scarcity they have been designated a UK habitat of principal importance.[13] In the United States a project at Chesapeake Bay is considered a success.[14]
Native oysters
Oysters clean waters, recycle nutrients and help to protect against coastal erosion. Oyster stocks have declined by 95 per cent in Europe due to over-harvesting, habitat loss, pollution and disease.[15] Restoring historic oyster beds improves water quality.[16]
Kelp forests
Kelp forests are important habitats which have been lost over time in coastal waters.[17][18] Kelp forests provide habitat for fish, protect coastlines from erosion and trap carbon dioxide from the ocean. They grow fast and absorb large amounts of carbon.[19] Restoring kelp forests is a strategy to address climate change and enrich ocean livestock.[20]
Marine protected areas
Environmental groups, such as Rewilding Chile, are campaigning to create new marine protected areas.[21]
Carbon capture
Rewilding the sea has been described as "the new way to capture carbon".[22]
Organisations
- Seawilding, a Scottish charity work with communities[11][23]
- NatureScot
- Rewilding Britain
See also
Further reading
Clover, Charles (9 June 2022). Rewilding the Sea. Penguin Books.
References
- ^ Gregr, Edward (7 July 2021). "Sea otters: how welcome should a recovering top predator be?". TheScienceBreaker. doi:10.25250/thescbr.brk563. ISSN 2571-9262.
- ^ "8 marine rewilding projects around Britain". Rewilding Britain. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Reports". Blue Marine Foundation. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "COP 26: Ocean action is climate action and the time to act is now!". Seas at Risk. 2 November 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "A drop in the ocean: rewilding the seas". the Guardian. 4 July 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Ocean protection and Marine Directive review: past present future. Interview with Monica Verbeek, Executive Director of Seas At Risk". Seas at Risk. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ Green, Alix Evelyn (28 July 2020). Assessing the impact of environmental pressures on seagrass Blue Carbon stocks in the British Isles (Doctoral thesis). UCL (University College London).
- ^ "Advancing the conservation of seagrass through education influence research and action". Project Seagrass. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Dickie, Mure (4 September 2021). "Coastal rewilding: restoring Scotland's seagrass meadows". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "Assessment of Blue Carbon Resources in Scotland's Inshore Marine Protected Area Network". NatureScot. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "The problem with blue carbon: can seagrass be replanted … by hand?". the Guardian. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Out of the Blue: The Value of Seagrasses to the Environment and to People". UN Environment Programme. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "LIFE 3.0 – LIFE Project Public Page". European Commission LIFE public database. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Unsworth, Richard K. F.; Callaway, Ruth. "How underwater gardening can rewild the Atlantic Ocean". The Conversation. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ "Essex Native Oyster Restoration Initiative". Essex Native Oysters. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Restoring oysters on the Humber". The Wildlife Trusts. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Sussex Kelp Restoration Project". Sussex Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Paradigm Shift On How To Restore Kelp Forests". Sea Trees. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Plantwatch: kelp – forgotten forests that help tackle climate crisis". the Guardian. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Kelp Forest Restoration Project". The Bay Foundation. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Marine Program". Fundación Rewilding Chile. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ "Rewilding the sea is the new way to capture carbon, says Eustice". Blue Marine Foundation. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ "Seawilding – an entity, and an idea that was born out of the hopes, aspirations and motivations of a community association called CROMACH". UN Decade on Restoration. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
