From 18-20 March 2025, a joint meeting of the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) Sargassum Working Group and the Open-Ended Working Group on Land-Based Sources of Pollution (LBS) was successfully convened at the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) in Trinidad and Tobago.
This meeting was financially supported by the Governments of France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands and by the Regional Seas Branch of the United Nations Environment Programme.
The meeting brought together country representatives, regional organizations, and scientific experts to enhance collaboration and promote integrated, regional responses to address ongoing Sargassum inundations affecting the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR).
A central focus was the potential linkage between excess nutrient runoff from terrestrial sources, such as agricultural fertilizers and wastewater discharge, and the frequent and extensive Sargassum blooms affecting Caribbean coastal and marine ecosystems. Participants highlighted specific impacts, including severe disruption of tourism, fisheries, and coastal livelihoods, and discussed concrete examples such as major economic losses due to tourism cancellations and substantial cleanup costs incurred by affected nations.
Participants shared best practices and practical solutions implemented in different countries, such as the establishment of early-warning systems, innovative removal techniques, and sustainable use initiatives that transform collected Sargassum into valuable products like fertilizers or biogas.
Participants agreed on the need to:
Approving and implementing the Sargassum Working Group Action Plan
Adopt a clear definition of "Sargassum inundation," as agreed during the meeting, considering the ecological and economic implications that misconceptions regarding what constitutes an inundation could entail.
Create a new Sargassum Working Group in the framework of the Cartagena Convention to adopt a more integrated approach between the SPAW and LBS Protocols in dealing with the Sargassum inundation issue.
Strengthen existing regional coordination mechanisms for sharing timely data, information, expertise, and resources.
The UNEP Cartagena Convention Secretariat will facilitate discussions on the implementation of these recommendations at upcoming meetings of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) and the Conference of Parties (COP) for both the LBS and SPAW Protocols, as well as at the Intergovernmental Meeting IGM21 and the Cartagena Convention COP18 that will be held this year.
Through the Cartagena Convention, we remain strongly committed to protecting the marine and coastal environment of the Wider Caribbean Region by promoting science-based, cooperative, and ecosystem-driven approaches.
