Patagonia's underwater defence against climate change needs protection
21 May
Patagonia's kelp forest is helping to fight climate change.
Chile's Patagonia is known for its mountains and hiking paradise but it is also home to the largest continuous kelp forest in the world.
Kelp forests are crucial for battling climate change by capturing carbon, regulating the sea's PH level, maintaining the structure of coasts and are home to multiple species. But more than half of the world's kelp forests have been decimated by human activity and climate change.
"We want to show that this is what can be lost if we don't protect them," said Max Bello, a Chilean expert on ocean policy who was part of a nine-day scientific expedition run by American NGO Mission Blue to study the kelp forest in the southern area of Chiloe, around 1 400 kilometers south of Santiago.
"When you say Patagonia, we imagine mountains, huge rocks, wind, but few people know what there is underwater," added Bello. Chile's Patagonia is known for its mountains and hiking paradise but it is also home to the largest continuous kelp forest in the world.
Kelp forests are crucial for battling climate change by capturing carbon, regulating the sea's PH level, maintaining the structure of coasts and are home to multiple species.
More:
https://www.news24.com/fin24/climate_future/environment/patagonias-underwater-defence-against-climate-change-needs-protection-20230521
