Often described as underwater rainforests and the “lungs of the ocean”, kelp forests line as much as 25% of the world’s coastlines. They provide important shelter and food for fish and other marine life, and are vital for our oceans’ ecosystems. However kelp is under severe threat because of climate change, warming seas and overfishing. We look at projects in California aimed at stemming the decline of kelp including how scientists are growing it in a laboratory to be planted at sea as well as tackling a key cause of kelp degradation - sea urchins. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/reporter: Craig Langran Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Tom Bigwood Sound mix: Frank McWeeny
People Fixing.
People Fixing the World.
Welcome to People Fixing the World from the BBC World Service.
With me, Mayra Anubi.
This is the program that finds new solutions to some of the world's problems.
Now, we've spoken about the loss of our planet's forests before on this program, but today, we're not going to be talking about forests on land like the Amazon.
We're going to be talking about saving a type of forest you find under the sea.
Today, we're talking about something called kelp.
And kelp is a bit deceptive.
It looks like brown, long, stringy underwater grass, but it's not actually a plant.
It's a type of algae or seaweed.
And similar to forests, kelp grows densely underwater, and it plays a vital role in nature.
Kelp forests provide a habitat for lots of fish and sea life.
They also capture carbon from the atmosphere and remove nasty pollutants from water.
Plus, we human beings also use kelp to make a lot of food and cosmetic products.
But in the last 10 to 15 years, this natural resource has come under threat, especially because of climate change.
Now, kelp needs cool water temperatures to grow, and scientists believe that as climate change makes seawater warmer, it's also affecting the growth of kelp.
However, this is where our solutions today are trying to help.
Now, later on, we'll find out how feeding zombie urchins can help save these forests.
But first, our reporter Craig Langren is here to help us understand more about the problem.