The massive influxes of sargassum seaweed that have intermittently impacted Barbados and most other parts of the Caribbean since 2011 are receiving renewed attention from several sources.
This was revealed at the inception workshop of a new project on ‘Co-developing a Barbados Sargassum Adaptive Management Strategy (SAMS)’. This small planning project is to assist Barbados to become more resilient to the threats posed by sargassum and to turn sargassum into an opportunity for sustainable development once safe commercial uses are identified.
The project is a planning partnership between the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy (MMABE) which has responsibility for addressing sargassum responses, the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) of the University of the West Indies (UWI) which has scientific expertise and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Forty-three participants attended the hybrid project inception workshop either in-person or online on Dec. 10. These included government officials, the business sector, fisherfolk, local and regional non-governmental organisations, UWI, CARICOM organisations and UN agencies.
The workshop’s three main sessions featured presentations on sargassum science, response mechanisms, sargassum uses and approaches to the Sargassum Adaptive Management Strategy. These connected science to practice.
The SAMS will provide a forum for key actor collaboration in Barbados. The approach may be replicated in other sargassum projects being implemented by UWI with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN and other partners.
The SAMS planning project, which ends in January 2021, will use participatory processes to recommend arrangements for managing sargassum in Barbados including uses, environmentally responsible responses, monitoring protocols, profiles of impacted coastal sites and more to develop an adaptive framework for building resilience through learning institutions. Unlike plans that are static, the SAMS will be designed to learn and adapt to new knowledge on sargassum amidst the changing climate that is affecting us all.
