Fisher standing on beached sargassum at Levera National Park, Grenada. Credit: Candice Ramkissoon
Developing communications strategies and stakeholder capacity building and engagement mechanisms for the SargAdapt project in the Eastern Caribbean, implemented from 2020 – 2022.
Since 2011, sargassum influxes in the Caribbean have increasingly posed a threat, becoming an almost yearly event for the Eastern Caribbean islands. Sargassum mats inundate coastlines, cover beaches and block fish landing sites, impeding activities in tourism, fisheries and everyday life for coastal communities. Although there is increasing awareness of the issue and progress in research on sargassum origination, tracking, forecasting, usage and management, there are still many unknowns surrounding the management of the phenomenon. It is clear that the region has to develop national and regional interventions and capacity for reducing sargassum’s impacts and improving adaptation.
About the Project
The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) provided technical assistance for the “Adapting to a new reality: Managing responses to influxes of sargassum seaweed in the Eastern Caribbean as ecosystem hazards and opportunities (SargAdapt)” project, including development of communications strategies and stakeholder capacity building and engagement mechanisms.
Sargadapt’s main goal was to “reduce the impacts of and improve adaptation to sargassum influxes in the Eastern Caribbean with emphasis on converting a climate-linked ecosystem hazard into an asset that supports opportunities for socio-economic development”. The project was led by the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (UWI-CERMES), with a focus on Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It was implemented over three years from December 2019 – December 2022. It was funded by the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund Ecosystem-based Adaptation Facility through financing assistance from German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety International Climate Initiative (IKI) through the KfW.
How has this project benefitted the Caribbean region?
By strengthening knowledge and capacity for adaptation to sargassum influxes through the development of communication and engagement strategies and the establishment of collaborative mechanisms for sharing of knowledge, innovation and best practices.
What did we achieve?
- Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Strategies developed for the 5 project countries using the information gathered from desk review, scoping and stakeholder analysis, and knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) surveys conducted in the 10 target communities in the project countries to understand the impacts of sargassum influxes, stakeholder needs and the local context for management and adaptation.
- A Sargassum Action Network established, including community leaders identified in the stakeholder analysis and through the consultation process.
- A Regional Sargassum Action Learning Group established and coordinated, bringing together change agents for knowledge exchange, problems solving and increasing capacity in management and adaptation to sargassum influxes in the Eastern Caribbean region.
Project news and information
More information on this project
- Project brief
- SargAdapt project brief
- Contact Dr. Ainka Granderson, Resilience Programme Manager, at ainka@canari.org
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