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The document describes how small marine organisms, such as krill, salps, and echinoderms, act as 'climate heroes' by facilitating the ocean's carbon sink and supporting biodiversity. It details the biological carbon pump mechanisms used by krill and salps to move carbon to the deep ocean, the role of echinoderms in seabed carbon storage, and the importance of marine invertebrates in the reproduction of carbon-storing seagrasses and seaweed.

South Africa has legislated 42 marine protected areas (MPAs) covering approximately 5% of its exclusive economic zone to protect high marine biodiversity and endemism. These areas are managed by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) and its partners through three zoning types: restricted, controlled-use, and multiple-use. MPAs provide critical ecosystem services, including the 'spillover effect' for fish stocks and enhanced climate resilience. South Africa is currently working toward the '30x30' target of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to protect 30% of the Earth by 2030.