Sussex Bay kelp: a carbon model for kelp forest restoration
Historically, an extensive kelp forest, stretching all along the West Sussex coast covered 176km2 of seabed, hosting a hugely diverse marine ecosystem, providing a haven for wildlife including lobsters, crab and an array of fish species, and supporting thriving small boat fishing communities all along the coast. Trawling and other activities, and a huge storm event in 1987 reduced the kelp forest to 5% of its original area.
In March 2021, after years of research, development and lobbying, the Sussex IFCA successfully implemented a trawling exclusion bylaw, taking a key pressure away. Now, the Sussex Kelp Restoration Project is working to support the restoration of the kelp forest, and a group of scientists are undertaking a range of research and trials activities.
The Sussex Bay natural capital initiative, funded by the DEFRA Investment Readiness Fund, is working to develop investment models to support the kelp restoration, seeking to unlock private investment alongside grant funding.
It is early days for marine natural capital, with a lower evidence base and lack of legislation and tooling to support the development of investable projects. Our project aims to make progress on this journey, developing a site-specific understanding of the carbon captured by the restoring kelp forest, and broadening the work out to explore opportunities for voluntary marine biodiversity net gain (and learning to support the development of mandatory arrangements), and to examine further revenue opportunities in relation to water quality management and coastal defence.
We are developing a kelp research and trials programme in support of a “pre investment” proposition for kelp carbon sequestration, while working in partnership with The Crown Estate to develop a trial “seabed lease for nature” and a charitable trust to create the necessary
Project Aim
Unlocking investment opportunities in kelp habitat restoration
(176km2 of lost kelp forest off the Sussex Coast)
Project partners
Sussex IFCA (Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities)
Funding model
We know that blue carbon solutions are of great interest to investors. The evidence base for kelp is low compared to habitats such as seagrass, saltmarsh and mangrove, but in the UK context, kelp has huge potential, and we aim to take important steps towards Investibility for kelp projects.
We aim to generate revenue from kelp blue carbon through financial innovation that takes account of levels of uncertainty in the early stages, enabled by the securing of a long term seabed lease for nature from The Crown Estate. We are working with specialist financial advisors to develop initial models for presentation to investors, and we have several interested parties in place.
We are keen to work with DEFRA and Natural England in relation to kelp blue carbon, but also in relation to the development of marine biodiversity net gain approaches. Outside of the kelp project but within the wider Sussex Bay scheme, we have two parcels of land on the Adur (intertidal) river for which we are also developing blended finance models. We believe there is an opportunity to develop a diversified “blue” portfolio to unlock multiple avenues for revenue generation for schemes, which may support the expansion of schemes within the local area.
Future Investment Potential
Mitigation and adaptation to climate change: There is some recent evidence that healthy kelp forests can increase the pH of the water around them creating a refuge from acidification stress which is occurring through changes in sea temperatures and seawater chemistry.
Thriving plants and wildlife: Kelp forests provide three dimensional habitat structure for a vast array of marine plants and animals, including a number of commercially important fish and shellfish species.
Protection from and mitigation of environmental hazards: Marine biogenic structures in coastal zones, such as kelp forests, are known to prevent and alleviate damage caused to coastal areas during flood and storm events. Kelp forests change coastal hydrodynamics, altering the flow of water and wave heights, speeds and breaking velocity.
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