Seaweed habitats act as important repositories for marine biodiversity, providing key environmental and ecosystem services crucial to ocean and human health. As anthropogenic pressures increasingly impact marine ecosystems and the biodiversity they support, various international governance mechanisms have been developed to strengthen conservation efforts.

This database compiles international frameworks related to marine biodiversity, and it should be used by stakeholders of the seaweed industry to search, review, and compare existing biodiversity policies for actions to protect global seaweed stocks. We hope this database highlights the limitations of current frameworks in protecting seaweeds and their habitats; while also encouraging its users to consider how might seaweeds be more effectively integrated into biodiversity strategies going forward.

This database is the product of a thematic analysis that examined international biodiversity frameworks to determine how well seaweeds are being protected globally. This analysis will be made available here once published.