The second EU-Caribbean Global Gateway Conference on Sargassum, convened in October 2024, concluded with a renewed ambition to collect sargassum before it reaches the shores and develop sustainable value chains. The conference attracted more than 400 regional and international stakeholders from the government, private sector, academia, financing institutions, donors, and non-governmental organizations.
The conference was held as the Caribbean region continues to grapple annually with unprecedented amounts of sargassum washing ashore, impacting beaches, disrupting marine ecosystems, and threatening key economic sectors, particularly tourism and fisheries.
Representatives of countries from the Caribbean basin underscored the need for urgent collective action to turn sargassum into an economic opportunity. They committed to leveraging investments for critical infrastructure and scaling up operations, promoting joint ventures, transfer of technologies and de-risking operations.
