Scientists from around the world are calling for urgent action to protect, restore, and sustainably manage one of the ocean's least known yet most important ecosystems: the Marine Animal Forests. The appeal is presented in the document Marine Animal Forests: A Manifesto, launched by an international team of experts led by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), Spain, together with the Università del Salento, Italy.
Marine Animal Forests (MAFs) are complex, three-dimensional habitats formed by organisms such as corals, sponges, bryozoans, and gorgonians that create extensive structures on the seafloor. These ecosystems, found from shallow tropical waters to deep cold seas, provide essential ecological services: they act as biodiversity hotspots, nursery areas for fisheries, and key elements in carbon cycling and coastal protection. Despite their ecological importance, MAFs remain largely understudied and are scarcely represented in global conservation policies.
"The health of Marine Animal Forests is essential to the ocean's resilience", says Dr. Ziveri, researcher at ICTA-UAB. "They are to the sea what tropical rainforests are to the land. Their degradation has cascading effects on marine biodiversity, food security, and climate stability", she states.
"We are losing an ally, the loss of the Marine Animal Forest and any other forest has severe implications for several ecosystem services, from coastal protection to carbon immobilization, from fisheries to biodiversity", remarks Dr Sergio Rossi, professor at the Università del Salento.
The Manifesto, coordinated under the MAF-WORLD COST Action, highlights that these underwater forests are under severe pressure from destructive fishing practices such as bottom trawling, pollution—including microplastics—and the impacts of climate change, including ocean warming and acidification. Many of these habitats are already showing signs of decline or collapse, particularly in regions such as the Mediterranean, where centuries of exploitation have left deep ecological scars.
According to the authors, the protection of Marine Animal Forests requires both a scientific and policy transformation. Despite recent advances in marine ecology, these ecosystems still lack formal recognition in international frameworks and are often excluded from marine protected areas. The Manifesto calls for their inclusion in national and global biodiversity strategies, improved mapping and monitoring, and greater investment in restoration and public awareness.
"We still have a long road to go in understanding the distribution, function and health status of most of the habitats that conform the Marine Animal Forests", says Dr. Rossi. He goes on to alert that, "losing the complexity of these forests is losing its functionality and the associated to the canopy biodiversity".
The initiative brings together an international team of experts under the umbrella of the MAF-WORLD network (a COST action), which connects researchers, policymakers, and conservationists across continents. The document not only synthesizes current scientific knowledge but also serves as a policy-oriented appeal to governments and institutions to act before further irreversible loss occurs.
"Marine Animal Forests have been largely invisible to society and decision-makers", adds Dr. Ziveri. "Recognizing them as living blue forests is essential to understanding their role in sustaining ocean life and mitigating climate change."
The Manifesto concludes with a series of recommendations aimed at governments, international organizations, and the scientific community:
- Map and monitor Marine Animal Forests globally to fill existing knowledge gaps and provide a solid basis for their management.
- Integrate MAFs into national and international policy frameworks, recognizing them as vulnerable habitats deserving formal protection.
- Strengthen Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and ensure their effective enforcement, especially in deep and remote waters.
- Ban or restrict destructive activities such as bottom trawling and reducing anthropogenic pressures including pollution and sedimentation.
- Promote restoration initiatives and nature-based solutions focused on long-lived, structure-forming species.
- Include Marine Animal Forests in carbon-sequestration and biodiversity-credit mechanisms, recognizing their role in climate regulation.
- Raise public awareness by using the "forest" analogy to make these ecosystems more visible and relatable.
Through these actions, the authors hope to inspire a global movement for the recognition and protection of Marine Animal Forests as vital blue carbon ecosystems.
The publication of Marine Animal Forests: A Manifesto marks an important milestone for marine conservation science and policy. The document seeks to bridge the gap between research and decision-making, promoting international cooperation and a long-term commitment to ocean sustainability.
MAF-World COST Action Network, Rossi, S., Ziveri, P., Rizzo, L., Rinkevich, B., Zorilla, J., Svendsen, J. C., & Allcock, A. L. (2025). Marine Animal Forests: a Manifesto. European Cooperation in Science and Technology. https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/marine-animal-forests-a-manifesto/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
