Kategorie: News
Where the ocean and the desert meet, the world’s fastest-growing forest thrives
Off the remote coast of Lüderitz in southern Namibia, where the desert and the Atlantic Ocean meet, the Dutch company Kelp Blue has been operating a farm for giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera).
Ironically, it is precisely this rugged, weather-beaten stretch of coastline that offers nearly ideal conditions for the largest of all brown algae: The cold, nutrient-rich Benguela Current ensures constant temperatures and abundant nutrients year-round, while the region also reliably offers plenty of sunshine throughout the year.
60 centimeters a day
Giant kelp is among the fastest-growing organisms on Earth: Under optimal conditions, this brown algae grows up to 60 centimeters per day and can eventually reach over 45 meters in length—from the seafloor to the water’s surface. Like a tree, it forms trunks, leaves, and entire, dense forests—only it grows significantly faster than any land plant. At Kelp Blue, the algae are first grown in the lab from microscopic spores, then attached to support lines and deployed in the ocean, where they develop into mature plants.
According to the company, it now manages more than 30 hectares of kelp forest in Shearwater Bay near Lüderitz and is expanding the cultivation area by about four hectares per month.
Climate Protection, Jobs, and Unanswered Questions
The hope behind the project: Giant kelp is considered a previously underestimated carbon sink that can sequester significantly more CO2 per unit area than terrestrial forests. At the same time, the underwater forests provide new habitat for numerous marine animals and create new, technically demanding jobs in a region where the diamond industry once boomed and the fishing industry later collapsed due to overfishing.
Only the upper foliage is harvested, while the lower portion is preserved as a carbon sink and habitat. Kelp Blue uses the harvested biomass to produce, among other things, agricultural biostimulants designed to help crops better withstand droughts and climate stress. In the future, additional products—ranging from cosmetics to biodegradable packaging—are to be produced from the kelp leaves.
Just how effective the project will actually be in terms of climate impact is currently the subject of ongoing research. A team from the University of Namibia has been analyzing geochemical baseline data at several locations around the farm for some time to quantify the actual carbon sequestration potential; a study published in 2026 in the journal *Thalassas* determined a net primary production of approximately 7.57 kilograms of carbon per square meter per year for the site in Shearwater Bay, with pronounced seasonal fluctuations between winter and summer. Whether and to what extent this will actually result in tradable “blue carbon” credits remains completely open at this point.
Not a Local Reef, but an Expedition
For divers, a kelp forest differs fundamentally from a classic coral reef: Instead of colorful stony corals, visitors encounter a towering underwater forest of golden-brown fronds swaying in the current, interspersed with rays of light that make their way through the dense canopy.
Cold water temperatures, often limited visibility due to nutrient-rich upwelling zones, and the remote location of the Namibian coast make a visit more of an expedition than an everyday dive. Furthermore, the region is not yet an established diving destination, unlike, for example, the kelp forests of California or South Africa. Those who venture there nonetheless enter one of the least explored underwater ecosystems in southern Africa.
Further information:
Thomson Reuters Foundation / Context News
The Fish Site
Kelp Blue (Company Website)
Thalassas: An International Journal of Marine Sciences (Springer Nature, 2026)