BlueMissionAA played an important role in advancing Norwegian kelp forest restoration efforts through co-convening a significant national conference in November 2024. The event, titled “What needs to be done to bring back the kelp forest in Northern Norway?”, directly addressed a Parliamentary request to the Government for preparing a national plan to restore Norway’s threatened kelp forests.

The conference brought together approximately 80 participants from public administration, industry, environmental organizations, and the research community to discuss restoration strategies for Northern Norway’s kelp forests, which face different challenges than those in the south. While northern kelp forests have been grazed down by sea urchins, southern forests are primarily threatened by eutrophication.
The Norwegian Blue Forests Network has now published the comprehensive conference report, which is available in Norwegian with a two-page English summary. The report captures the discussions and recommendations from the diverse group of stakeholders on how to effectively restore these vital marine ecosystems in Northern Norway.

The conference represents a crucial step in developing evidence-based approaches to kelp forest restoration, addressing the specific environmental challenges that differ across Norway’s extensive coastline.

BlueMissionAA’s involvement in kelp forest restoration extends beyond the November conference. Earlier in 2024, on March 19, the project co-convened a Weekly Hour webinar titled “European macroalgae management: The case of the Norwegian kelp forests.” This session brought together experts from various fields to explore the historical evolution, current state, challenges, and future prospects of Norwegian kelp forests.

The webinar examined the complex governance challenge of simultaneously exploiting, protecting, and restoring different parts of Norway’s long coastline. It also featured an update on European research and innovation supporting marine coastal blue carbon ecosystems, delivered by policy officer Ivan Conesa-Alcolean from DG Research & Innovation.
Organizes by the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), it also demonstrated the collaborative nature of European marine research, with co-convening organizations including BlueMissionAA, A-AAGORA, ACTNOW, C-BLUES, Invest4Nature, MARHAB, and the Norwegian Blue Forest Network. This multi-project collaboration highlights the importance of coordinated efforts in addressing complex marine ecosystem challenges.

Both initiatives underscore BlueMissionAA’s commitment to supporting evidence-based marine conservation efforts across the Atlantic-Arctic region. The project’s involvement in kelp forest restoration aligns with broader European objectives to restore marine ecosystems and enhance blue carbon potential.

The publication of the conference report provides valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders working on kelp forest restoration not only in Norway but across similar marine environments in the Atlantic-Arctic region.