On 25 June 2026, the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) organised an introductory meeting on “transforming sargassum from problem to opportunity.” Organised through the Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Network (CSCN), the event explored ways in which local governments can address the sargassum challenge at the local level and kicked off a new project on the sargassum issue.
Watch the meeting recording here.
View presentation slides here.
Credit: CLGF
Background
Sargassum is a seaweed that is increasingly but unpredictably coming ashore across the Caribbean, affecting access to local beaches, tourism and livelihoods. It becomes increasingly toxic and emits a strong odor once it washes onto local beaches.
Tackling sargassum is one of the focuses of a major EU Global Gateway project for Latin American and the Caribbean. It tracks, collects and develops alternative productive uses for sargassum.
This meeting spotlighted the local governments’ role in this project.
Credit: CLGF
Meeting highlight
The meeting highlighted the importance of peer learning at the local level. By exchanging practical experience and identifying realistic improvements, it supports local governments in developing their own sargassum action plans and linking them to regional and national programme, including the Sargassum Regional Strategies for Ecosystem-based Actions (SARSEA) Project at the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States(OECS).
Participants exchanged the experience of local action and underscored the impacts of sargassum on fishing beds, livelihoods, marine ecosystem, tourism and health.
The SARSEA project was introduced during the meeting. It is a collaborative initiative funded by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and launched in late 2025. Aimed at minimising the environmental, economic, and health impacts of massive seaweed strandings across the Caribbean, it has the following four focus areas:
- Regional cooperation
- National action plans for managing and cleaning up sargassum
- Research and science to better understand the impacts of sargassum
- Valorisation and innovation, supporting private sector innovations and civil society groups in transforming stranded sargassum into sustainable, economically beneficial products
Credit: CLGF
Next steps
With peer learning at the heart of the project and followed by a further round of national consultations, the next step of the project is to define a set of concrete actions around four priority areas, namely:
- Increasing public awareness
- Coordinating with other governments on safe removal
- Supporting the local economy
- Proactively preparing for unpredictable blooms