Business News | Forests Without Names: Hyundai Motor Brings the World’s Hidden Sea Forests Into the Light | LatestLY

In a bid to turn the planet’s overlooked blue-carbon powerhouses into recognized places on the map, Hyundai Motor has launched “Forests Without Names,” a global Earth Month campaign that assigns names to underwater forests and builds an open data hub to track them. The effort spotlights the ecological and climate value of kelp and seaweed ecosystems while extending the company’s ongoing marine restoration and cleanup projects.

Why sea forests deserve a name—and attention

Sea forests—dense habitats formed by kelp and other macroalgae—rival many terrestrial forests in the services they provide. They shelter fish and invertebrates, buffer coasts from waves, draw down carbon, improve water quality, and help stabilize biodiversity along shorelines. Yet, unlike famous land-based forests, many of these submarine woodlands remain nameless and largely invisible to the public and policymakers.

That anonymity matters. Without names and recognized boundaries, it is harder to advocate for conservation, measure change, or include these ecosystems in spatial planning. Scientific and policy momentum has grown in recent years to better quantify seaweed’s climate role; discussions at an IPCC session in 2025 underscored the need for methods that could bring seaweed into future carbon accounting frameworks. Naming is not a substitute for science or protection, but it can be a catalyst—helping communities, governments, and researchers align around specific places that need care.

How the “Forests Without Names” campaign works

Building on earlier environmental storytelling efforts, the campaign takes a practical step: give sea forests distinct identities and make their locations and characteristics publicly accessible. The initiative’s phased rollout includes:

• Korea: One of the restored sea forests off Ulsan now has the name “Ullim,” a word that evokes resonance—apt for a habitat whose influence ripples through the coastal food web. The designation was developed with support from national and local maritime and fisheries agencies.
• Argentina: A site has been named “Auken Aiken,” translating to “Field of Life” in a local Indigenous language, reflecting collaboration with marine conservation organizations and community groups.
• Australia: The final name will be selected through a public vote hosted on the campaign’s official channels, with shortlists prepared alongside local NGOs and community stakeholders.

Names will be added to a Sea Forest Map and registered on a dedicated platform that Hyundai aims to integrate with major mapping services over time. The campaign hub is set to evolve into a global Sea Forest Data Hub—an open repository archiving verifiable information on site locations, ecology, and restoration activities, increasing transparency and access for researchers, managers, and the public.

Earth Month timeline

• Early April: Campaign launch, open participation for naming and site registration, and release of introductory materials.
• Mid-April: Public announcement of newly named sea forests in Korea and Argentina; community voting begins for Australia.
• April 22 (Earth Day): Premiere of the main campaign film and reveal of Australia’s selected name.

Beyond naming: restoration and cleanup on the water

The naming push complements restoration already underway. Since 2024, Hyundai and South Korean partners have been rehabilitating seaweed habitats in Ulsan across roughly 3.96 square kilometers. The program deploys techniques such as seaweed transplantation, spore dispersal, artificial underwater longlines, support for local species reproduction, and targeted seabed cleanups. Early projections suggest these restored forests could absorb around 1,300 tons of CO₂ annually while rebuilding habitat complexity and fisheries productivity.

Tackling marine debris is the second pillar. Since 2021, joint cleanup operations with a marine conservation foundation have removed about 320 tons of waste—much of it abandoned fishing gear—from waters in Europe, Korea, and the United States. Recovered nets are transformed into regenerated nylon fiber used in vehicle interior components, closing a loop between ocean stewardship and product design and signaling an emerging materials pathway that reduces pressure on virgin resources.

A signal to the blue economy

For years, environmental campaigns have asked audiences to “care.” This one urges us to “recognize”—to give underwater forests clear names, shared reference points, and a place in the public record. That simple act can accelerate monitoring, guide local stewardship, inform coastal planning, and ultimately help safeguard kelp and seaweed ecosystems that buffer climate risks and anchor coastal livelihoods.

As companies and governments look for credible blue-carbon strategies, the initiative hints at a practical bridge between storytelling and science: build open data, ground it in community and expert partnerships, and link it to hands-on work—restoration, waste recovery, and responsible materials use. If the world is to lean on ocean nature for climate resilience, we must first know these forests by name.