Chile and The Global Kelp Harvest
The Atacama region has approximately 1000 miles of rugged Pacific Ocean shoreline and extensive natural assets such as sand dunes, wetlands, kelp forests, and sandy beaches.
Photo Credit: CECPAN
This April I had the privilege of visiting the oldest desert in the world, the Atacama of northern Chile. Its striking features are a sea of dunes covering over 300 square kilometres, unmatched geologic history, unique biodiversity, and extensive mining sites. What I did not expect to observe was the unrelenting harvest of wild kelp.
Kelp forests provide numerous benefits to people. This includes medicines, cosmetic goods, feed for fish and livestock, shoreline protection, carbon sequestration, water regulation in the form of nitrogen removal, and nursery habitat for fish and seafood species. The global economic contribution of the kelp forest ecosystem is estimated to be worth between US $465 and 562 billion.
Chile's coastal zone is part of the Humboldt Current System, one of the most productive ocean ecosystems on the planet. Yet various environmental pressures have led to Chile's kelp forests decreasing alarmingly in recent years. The nation accounts for 40% of the global wild harvest, and the subtidal kelp, Lessonia trabeculate, is one of the preferred targets of nearshore divers. They typically dive down to the benthos to rip or cut it directly from the rock. A more sustainable option is to leave some of the kelp attached and harvest by pruning a minimum distance from the holdfast.
During my travels along the coast, numerous trucks could be seen hauling out raw materials to the regional capital, Copiapó, for processing and international distribution. Colleagues informed me that Chile's harvesting sector continues to expand, with most of it exported as raw biomass to China. According to the FAO, Chile is now the largest wild harvester in the world (400,000 tons in 2020). Its kelp-based products are often used for food and hydrocolloids, functional carbohydrates used to enhance many foods' shelf life and quality.
New roads leading to illegal coastal settlements are highly vulnerable to tsunamis and other hazards.
Photo Credit: Gregg Verutes
Notably, Atacama is becoming a regional hotspot for tourism and other development activities driven by spectacular desert floral blooms, three species of flamingoes, wild camelids, and precious metals. A negative consequence of this growth was an 8.8 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in 2010, resulting in more than US $30 billion in damages.
My visit to Chile was made possible by CECPAN (Centro de Estudio y Conservación del Patrimonio Natural), who invited government representatives and scientists to a regional workshop on nature's value to people. We compiled government agency data and open-source scientific models to communicate the importance of natural capital throughout the Atacama region. This includes coastal wetlands, mountain glaciers, sand dunes, beaches, and "algas marinas" (kelp forests). The CECPAN team produced estimates of tourism and shoreline protection values to highlight what is at stake if kelp harvest, illegal coastal settlements, and mining activities continue to be largely unmanaged into the future. We also heard a dire prediction from a local scientist: most of Chile’s remaining kelp forests could be lost in the next 10 years if harvesting continues at current rates.
Given human and ecosystem-level pressures facing the much of the world's kelp forests, there is a need to understand where this critical marine resource exists and how to mitigate the threat of extraction. Kelp is difficult to detect from intertidal green algae, and both are found in shallow rocky intertidal areas. In February 2023, scientists published a research article describing a novel approach to map giant kelp forests globally. This effort fills in knowledge gaps, especially in the high latitudes of the southern hemisphere (towards Antarctica). The resulting map explorer indicates significant assets in Chile, with a high overall degree of accuracy, using a globally applicable model to estimate kelp distribution.
The policy side of this issue is more uncertain. The Government of Chile set goals in 2020 that would allow the preservation of the valuable kelp forests along the Humboldt Current because of their growing economic value and potential for global climate regulation via carbon sequestration. This strategy was to design and develop marine protected areas to preserve kelp forests. Unfortunately, the recovery of exploited areas appears very slow, as evidenced by the new high-resolution maps. Management is complex, and it is likely that only an integrated approach that considers the full suite of ecosystem benefits provided by kelp forests will turn the tide. Meanwhile, Chile's enforcement efforts target traders who traffic illegal harvests.
Unregulated coastal recreation, kelp harvesting, and other human activities threaten a suite of benefits flowing from nature to people.
Photo Credit: CECPAN | Gregg Verutes
Chile's wild harvests could be more sustainable. Reductions in biomass stock, density, and adult populations have been observed from northern to southern Chile. There is debate among the scientific and political communities about the effectiveness of the government's management plans. Currently, regulations for sustainable kelp harvest only exist in some northern areas. Some argue they are working, but there are clear enforcement issues. In the nation's south, extraction is allowed without any plan to manage this valuable resource. Removing kelp as a harvesting method needs to be discussed, and management options must be prioritised.
At Earth Matters, we work to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services (nature's benefits to people). Tackling the climate crises in the context of human development is the foundation of our work. As a consultant and subject matter expert for Earth Matters in the Middle East, I see similar challenges to the kelp crises in Chile. Human and climate pressures on marine habitats (e.g., seagrasses, mangroves, and coastal sabkha) are growing concerns as new development projects in the Red Sea get underway. By assessing how these proposed activities will impact environmental benefits delivered to people, we can identify ways to safeguard overall ecosystem health, strengthen various functions for biodiversity and resilience, and protect nature's critical services. Sustainable development is possible by identifying ways to mitigate or offset these impacts while considering social-ecological values that support livelihoods and local economies. Click here to learn more about our Projects and Clients.
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