Indigenous-Led Restoration Revives World’s Largest Living Plant

Australia is restoring the world’s largest plant in Shark Bay through an Indigenous-led project that rebuilds seagrass ecosystems while strengthening climate resilience and local livelihoods.

“You’re not just restoring the meadow, you’re building climate resilience into it,” said Virginia Simpson, Australia lead at Conservation International.

The seagrass meadow, a single organism spanning an area the size of Paris and over 4,500 years old, lost about 25% of its extent after a 2011 marine heatwave. Indigenous divers are now replanting seagrass while cultivating sea cucumbers, which enrich sediments and support regrowth, creating a self-sustaining restoration model. The ecosystem stores vast amounts of carbon and supports species such as dugongs and turtles, while the initiative also builds a local workforce and revives a 700-year-old trade, linking conservation with long-term economic opportunity.