World Harbour Seascape Restoration (WHSR) Programme brings together multiple ecosystem restoration initiatives to provide a template for restoration of whole seascapes in urbanised areas across the globe. In 2024 the WHSR Programme became an official United Nations Endorsed Programme. You can watch a short video on the project and the endorsement here.
So how is the WHSR Programme tackling the decline in marine biodiversity?
The WHSR Programme and projects within the overarching programme focus on ecosystems well-known for their current degradation status and their important ecosystem services such as seagrass beds, shellfish reefs, kelp forests, saltmarshes, mangroves, rocky reefs and coral reefs. Additionally, in collaboration with the internationally awarded Living Seawalls Project, this Programme will enhance and rehabilitate ecosystem services of urbanised areas where ecosystem restoration is unfeasible with the use of innovative solutions such as seawall habitat panels and ReefPods.
Why seascape restoration?
This initiative will be amongst the first, globally, to move beyond habitat-by-habitat approaches to restoration, to provide an example of how multispecies restoration can be conducted at scale to not only maximise ecological but also socio-economic benefits.
- A key goal of one of the major activities in WHSRP, Project Restore, is to evaluate the multiplicative benefits of restoring/repairing multiple habitats of a seascape together rather than individually.
- By looking at restoration on a seascape level we aim to rehabilitate ecological connectivity and processes between restored habitats and adjacent natural habitats within each restoration location.
Case Study: Project Restore Seascape Restoration
Project Restore is an innovative project on a mission to restore degraded seascapes in urbanised environments. With the aim to restore, enhance, and regenerate locations within Sydney harbour by recovering lost seagrass (Posidonia australis) meadows, enhancing kelp (Ecklonia radiata) forests, installing Living Seawall panels and deploying artificial fish habitats.
This case study will focus on the Posidonia and Kelp aspects of Project Restore. Centuries of degradation, pollution, development and boating activity have led to the loss of Sydney Harbour’s seagrass meadows, Posidonia is now considered endangered. This devastating loss got scientist thinking and Operation Posidonia was developed over 10 years ago. Project Restore now utilises the lessons learnt from Operation Posidonia to conduct seagrass restoration at selected sites within Sydney Harbour. So far, Project Restore has transplanted over 4,000 seagrass fragments back into Sydney Harbour, with the help of the community.
Project Restore is aiming to reforest kelp across four locations via urchin harvesting from degraded barrens. The harvest will focus on one urchin species: the long-spined sea urchin (Centrostephanus rodgersii). In 2024, urchin harvest work begun at Camp Cove and Watsons Bay Baths and in 2025 urchins are being removed from Morella Reserve and Vaucluse. This work was completed in partnership with South Coast Sea Urchins. There will be updates on this work soon.
Case Study: Project Restore x Sydney Seahorse Project
The WHSR programme through Project Restore has trialled a combined restoration approach to saving two endangered species. In partnership with the Sydney Seahorse Project, this project aims to provide critically important seahorse habitats by replanting the endangered Posidonia australis seagrass nearby targeted artificial habitats named “seahorse hotels”, and also increase wild White’s seahorse populations through a conservation-stocking program. By combining these restoration and conservation methods, this project endeavours to improve conservation outcomes for both endangered species.
You can read more about this collaboration here.
How Can You Get Involved?
Join the World Harbour Seascape Restoration network.
Submit your details here to join the network and connect with us!
Resources
All seascape restoration projects should be guided by the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) Standards, Guidelines and Principles.
SER has developed a number of resources to assist with implementing restoration:
For any enquiries please contact:
