Sydney, Oct. 31 (IANS): Countries must accelerate the conservation and restoration of kelp forests to meet international targets, Australian researchers said on Thursday.

According to the State of the World's Kelp report, which was published by scientists from University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney on Thursday, 16 per cent of the global kelp biome was protected and only two percent of the restoration target was met.

Aaron Eger, a UNSW marine ecologist and lead author of the report, in 2023 launched the Kelp Forest Challenge, a global initiative protecting and restoring 40 percent of kelp forests by 2040.

Kelp forests are made up of algae or seaweed and stretch along large swathes of the world's coastlines where they support marine species and fisheries, and play a crucial role in absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

According to the report, the global annual economic value of kelp forests exceeds 500 billion Australian dollars (328.7 billion U.S. dollars), Xinhua news agency reported.

As a result of climate change, pollution and overfishing, kelp forests were declining at an average rate of 1.8 per cent per year.

"Kelp forests really are the fabric of the oceans along the coastal temperate regions of the world. And at the same time, they're often the forgotten forests. We need to connect the public, governments and environmental agencies to the essential essence of these marine ecosystems," Eger said.

He said that with strong action there was a good chance of reaching 30 percent kelp protection by 2030 but that there was very little chance of reaching the same milestone for restoration by the same time.

"Kelp restoration is really just getting started, so we created the 2040 date in recognition that we maybe have further to go because kelp has been neglected so consistently, and we wanted to achieve something that feels possible," Eger said.