Purina Europe joins NoMaRe platform as a founding member to help facilitate large-scale marine restoration in Norway
Purina Europe joins NoMaRe platform as a founding member to help facilitate large-scale marine restoration in Norway
SWITZERLAND, 14 August 2024: Nestlé Purina PetCare Europe is pleased to announce that it is joining “NoMaRe” (Norwegian Marine Restoration), a collaborative platform aimed at facilitating the development and scaling of marine restoration solutions in Norway. Purina Europe is one of the platform’s founding members, alongside The Bellona Foundation, Urchinomics, Tarevoktere, and IFF (see Notes to Editors for details).
The key priority of the NoMaRe platform is to facilitate the development and scaling of kelp forest restoration in Norway. NoMaRe aims to achieve this by working to make marine restoration a priority in national policies and regulations, and by unlocking the necessary state and private funding. Through advocacy efforts, industry collaboration and implementing practical restoration trials, the platform aims to speed up research, facilitate knowledge-sharing and gain support in order to accelerate progress in marine restoration. The role of the founding partners is to contribute their knowledge and expertise and support the platform’s restoration and advocacy efforts.
Initially, NoMaRe will focus on supporting projects focused on the restoration of kelp forests across 5000 km2 in the North of Norway by removing excess sea urchins. Kelp forests are a critical ecosystem in supporting marine biodiversity and they can sequester large amounts of carbon. However, 60% of global kelp forests have disappeared in recent decades due to human activities and as a result of being overgrazed by excess sea urchins after their natural predators diminished significantly.
As part of Purina Europe’s commitment to help address the marine biodiversity loss in its extended supply chain, the company recently launched its first Ocean Restoration Programme. Through the programme, Purina is partnering with expert organisations across Europe to help restore seagrass, oyster reefs and kelp, which provide vital marine habitats. One of these partners is Urchinomics, and Bellona is supporting the programme as an advisory partner. Purina has joined the NoMaRe platform to help build the knowledge and engagement required to achieve large-scale marine restoration in Norway.
Kerstin Schmeiduch, Director of Sustainability & Corporate Communications, Purina Europe: “Collaborative efforts are required to address the dramatic decline in marine biodiversity across Europe. At Purina, we recently launched our Ocean Restoration Programme to help tackle this challenge by restoring marine habitats across Europe, because fish by-products are part of our extended supply chain. We are now delighted to be joining the NoMaRe platform as a founding partner, which we hope will bring benefits to the marine restoration work being done through our Programme in Norway due to the shared interests and ambitions of the platform."
Joakim Hauge, Global Head of Science and Strategy, Bellona: “The loss of the kelp forest is Norway's forgotten environmental crisis. Through our involvement in NoMaRe, Bellona aims to use our extensive experience in ecological restoration to facilitate a large-scale restoration of the Norwegian kelp forest. The partners in NoMaRe are already well underway with practical restoration trials and knowledge gathering. At the same time, it will be important for us to accelerate research, knowledge dissemination, and advocacy. We need to establish a national initiative for restoring the Norwegian kelp forest as soon as possible. Such an initiative could provide Norway with substantial climate and environmental benefits. We are very pleased to welcome Nestle Petcare Purina Europe as founding partner of NoMaRe and we acknowledge their commitment to marine restoration through their Ocean Restoration Programme”.
Notes to editors
About Nestlé Purina PetCare Europe
Nestlé Purina PetCare Europe believes that when people and pets bond, life becomes richer. This is why, for more than 125 years, it has been committed to creating richer lives for pets and the people who love them through high-quality nutrition and care. The Purina portfolio includes many of the best-known and best-loved pet foods including Felix®, Purina ONE®, Gourmet® and Pro Plan®.
With the ambition of becoming Europe’s most trusted pet care company, Purina Europe aims to have a positive impact on pets, people, and the planet. In 2022, the company launched six new Purina Commitments (2023-2030) to help reach this goal, to support adoption and responsible pet ownership, help the wellbeing of people in vulnerable situations and advance the regeneration of soil and ocean ecosystems.
For more information about the company, visit the Purina website: https://www.purina.eu/
More information about the Purina Commitments can be found here: Our Commitments: Revive Ecosystems in Ocean & Land | Purina
About The Bellona Foundation
The Bellona Foundation is an international non-profit organization with a vision to create a carbon-negative society with restorative growth. The Bellona Foundation has worked to develop innovative approaches to restoration for more than a decade and has been a pioneer in seaweed-based environmental solutions through its co-ownership of the R&D-company Ocean Forest since 2014.
About Tarevoktere
Tarevoktere (English: Guardians of the Kelp) is a Norwegian volunteer organization working with kelp restoration in Northern Norway. They restore kelp forests by removing overgrazing sea urchins with the help of volunteer divers in collaboration with top science institutes. Tarevoktere recognizes the value of ocean literacy and aims to communicate this ecosystem crisis through our channels and the media.
About Urchinomics
Urchinomics BV is a commercial venture that turns ecologically destructive, overgrazing urchins into premium sea urchin roe utilizing its proprietary aquaculture technologies. Urchinomics contributes to the restoration of kelp forests by removing overgrazing urchins from the barrens.
About IFF
IFF N&H Norway AS is part of IFF Corporation, an industry leader in health, biosciences, and ingredients for food and beverages. Main activity in Norway includes harvesting of brown seaweeds along the coast of Western Norway, and extraction of alginates. IFF has more than 60 years of experience with responsible seaweed management in Norway.
