Swati Thiyagarajan

The Sea Change Project reflects on its first time attending the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, where kelp forests gained long-overdue political recognition. From inspiring side events to landmark pledges for marine protection, the week sparked renewed hope, connection, and commitment to our blue planet.

Our planet has a fever. It’s sweating and sick. Last year was the hottest year on record, with average temperatures rising past the 1.5ºC threshold agreed upon by the 195 signatories to the Paris Agreement.

I watched the mountainside writhe in orange. Stark against the deepening sky, the dance of fire looked deadly and unavoidable. Heroic efforts by helicopters and firefighters wrestled the great beast down, only for it to start ravening on the next range a few miles over. This deadly waltz of fire and firefighters continued for ten days in the fag-end of 2023. Thankfully, there was no loss of human life or property.

When we originally formed SCP it was a way for us to produce the occasional creative project while immersing ourselves in the kelp forests which we named the Great African Seaforest. As a group we realised that by giving our kelp forests a name we were giving it an unique identity and a presence that connected it to the kelp forests of the world, but also distinguished it as a particular ecosystem found on the shores of Southern Africa.

The debate around the proposed octopus farm goes beyond the arguments of sentience. Read our full statement.

When I was a young girl, there was a Boney M song that I loved. The song was called “Oceans of Fantasy”. It spoke of

Befriending a wild otter, nature and wilderness connection during lockdown, and hope for the future of our environment.

We are nature. Biodiversity can be seen as the immune system of the planet, making its loss our greatest crisis that exacerbates climate change.

Craig Foster’s wife speaks about the octopus teacher, learning to swim, and eventually free diving herself.