The persistent invasion of sargassum along Belize’s coast continues to drive community action. Over the weekend, volunteers from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at (AMJ) joined a clean-up in Caye Caulker to help remove the seaweed from the island’s shores.
“The community joined residents and local stakeholders to remove large amounts of the seaweed, which continues to threaten marine life, damage tourism, and create health hazards due to its foul odor and decay,” AMJ said on social media.
The problem is not limited to Caye Caulker. Sargassum has been piling up in San Pedro and even along Belize City’s coastline as of last week.
Just last month, Minister of Blue Economy Andre Perez described this year’s influx as a “relentless” challenge, surpassing previous years.
Meanwhile, Belize is among a group of countries preselected by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for funding to support innovative solutions that convert sargassum into valuable resources for industries such as agriculture and renewable energy. However, the country’s participation is still pending a due diligence process.
