What This Project Is All About
A Swiss non-profit is on a mission to create a healthy climate and a clean, bright future for all co-inhabitants of our blue marble. The association focuses on researching, developing, and implementing climate protection projects both in Switzerland and abroad, tackling global climate change head-on. Their main goal? Promoting and financing nature-based climate solutions that not only reduce greenhouse gases but also support biodiversity. They believe in open sourcing — because sharing knowledge and collaborating is key to solving these complex environmental challenges. Their first big initiative links regenerative aquaculture with regenerative agriculture, aiming to rebuild coastal ecosystems, improve soil health, and boost crop resilience across Europe and beyond. The result? Sustainable jobs for rural communities, protection for farmers, food security in a changing climate, and significant carbon permanently stored away.
The Main Benefits at a Glance
Here’s why this project matters so much:
- Farmers face unprecedented challenges like degraded soils, droughts, and heatwaves causing major crop losses.
- Human diets contribute about a third of all carbon emissions, and new regulations are pushing farmers to cut emissions and reduce chemical fertilizer use.
- Demand for organic products is rising, opening huge economic opportunities.
- Seaweed grows fast, sequesters massive amounts of CO₂, promotes biodiversity, and doesn’t need fertile land, freshwater, or synthetic fertilizers.
- Seaweed works perfectly with other restorative species like oysters, filtering water, reducing ocean acidification, and easing eutrophication.
- Expanding seaweed cultivation means bigger capacity to regenerate marine coastal ecosystems.
How Aquaculture Fits In
The project farms seaweed in Scotland using an integrated polyculture approach. This method sequesters carbon and excess nutrients from the oceans while supporting biodiversity. Instead of exploiting natural seaweed stocks, the focus is on cultivation, ensuring marine ecosystems stay healthy and preserved. It’s a win-win: farming sustainably while healing the ocean.
The Role of the Biorefinery
Once harvested, the seaweed is transformed into nutrient-rich products packed with bioactive compounds that benefit plants and soils — think organic fertilizers and biostimulants. What’s left over? Seaweed residues get pyrolyzed into biochar through a carbon-negative process. This means the entire cycle not only supports agriculture but also locks carbon away permanently, making it a powerful nature-based carbon removal solution.
Boosting Agriculture with Nature-Based Solutions
These organic products help farmers regenerate soils, improve crop yields, and withstand climate stresses — all while cutting down their reliance on synthetic fertilizers. The biochar enhances soil quality and stores carbon for the long haul. It’s about making agriculture more resilient and sustainable, one field at a time.
Project Impact and Alignment with Global Goals
- SDG 2: Zero Hunger — by improving food security and supporting farmers.
- SDG 13: Climate Action — through carbon sequestration and emission reductions.
- SDG 14: Life Below Water — by restoring marine ecosystems.
- SDG 15: Life on Land — via soil regeneration and biodiversity support.
- SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth — creating sustainable jobs in rural areas.
Open Source and Scaling Up
Transparency is key here. Every step — from procedures and designs to calculations, models, successes, and failures — is documented and made public. This open-source approach ensures anyone can learn from their experience and kickstart their own regenerative practices quickly. As the project grows, it’s building an ecosystem of partners along the entire value chain. Ocean farmers can profitably cultivate seaweed, terrestrial farmers grow stronger crops, and together they permanently store CO₂ from the atmosphere. It’s a collaborative, scalable solution with real-world impact.
