Main text Kelp forests are one of the world’s largest marine ecosystems, of immense ecological, cultural, and economic importance, yet they are declining worldwide and are often the forgotten forests of our planet.1 While the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework calls for protection of 30% of the world’s ecosystems and restoration of 30% of degraded systems by 2030,2 kelp forest ecosystems have largely been neglected in international...