In 2022 alone, the countries of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) recorded economic losses of around $102 million due to sargassum. In February, some nine million tons of this algae were recorded, with a massive presence on the Caribbean coasts for 13 years.
Although it entails million-dollar losses, countries barely invest in finding solutions to the problem. “Algae must be seen as an impact of global warming, and this view must include the right to compensation based on the fact that the islands are small and vulnerable,” says Sylvie Gustave dit Duflo, vice president of Guadeloupe region in charge of environmental and president of the French Biodiversity Office. The Caribbean has failed to coordinate a regional strategy. Caribbean governments have waited until they were in the crisis phase to react. And almost always the solutions that have been sought have focused on protecting the tourism industry, while other groups, such as local communities or fishermen, remain in the background.