The EU and the Caribbean jointly tackle the sargasso crisis

19/11/2025

The EU and the Caribbean jointly tackle the sargasso crisis

The third European Union Conference on Sargassum explored financing mechanisms and partnerships to transform the challenges posed by sargassum into opportunities.
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The third EU-Caribbean Conference on Sargassum, held within the framework of the Global Gateway Forum and organised by the European Union with the support of the EU-Caribbean Cooperation Facility project implemented by FIAP, focused on exploring the leap from pilot projects to scalable, real and sustainable solutions for sargassum management. Policy makers, private sector and industry leaders, representatives from academia and financial institutions came together to present success stories from the Caribbean, Mexico and the Dominican Republic and discussed possible financial support and partnerships with a view to taking a positive approach to the sargassum problem.

The Caribbean basin is facing increasingly severe influxes of sargassum seaweed, seriously affecting marine ecosystems, tourism, fisheries and coastal livelihoods, and causing losses and damage amounting to several million dollars. Through the GGIA (Global Gateway Investment Agenda), the European Union, Team Europe and Caribbean partners continue working to turn this challenge into new job opportunities and an incentive for businesses, with a particular focus on local economies.

Sargassum: from challenge to opportunity

The conference has been a milestone in advancing concrete results ahead of the 2025 EU-CELAC Summit, as confirmed by Colombia’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (Pro Tempore Presidency of CELAC). A prominent representation of Caribbean government institutions, EU Member States, European institutions, international organisations, development banks, academia and the private sector took part in the event.

The European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Jozef Síkela, stated at the opening of the Conference:

“The sargassum crisis has been a persistent challenge for Caribbean communities, as it has damaged local livelihoods and caused costly harm to tourism, one of the region’s key economic sectors. But together we are proving that this crisis can be turned into an opportunity — a source of jobs, innovation and even clean energy across the region — by creating value chains from sargassum.”

Promotion of a regional market for sargassum derivatives

Also, the Prime Minister of Grenada, Dickon Mitchell, called for regional cooperation and the harmonisation of standards for response, data technologies and the collection, processing and recovery of sargassum.

Grenada, the Dominican Republic and Mexico have committed to collecting and processing at least 660,000 tonnes of sargassum between 2026 and 2027, shared among the three countries. This announcement is the first step towards the creation of a regional market for sargassum-derived products.

IV EU-Caribbean Global Gateway Conference on Sargassum

The conference also provided an opportunity to announce that the fourth EU–Caribbean Global Gateway Conference on Sargassum will be held in Mexico, ensuring that momentum and the scaling up of operations continue across the region.

The meeting concluded on the need to strengthen regional coordination, improve financing and innovation in sargassum management, and consolidate inclusive partnerships between governments, financial institutions and the private sector.