Over 60 environmental specialists and cross-regional stakeholders have convened in Dominica this week for three days of targeted meetings, workshops and collaborative events centered on advancing sargassum management strategies, boosting regional environmental sustainability and strengthening collective Caribbean cooperation on marine challenges.
Hosted from May 26 to 28 under the umbrella of the regional SARSEA programme, the full slate of activities receives financial backing from Agence Française de Développement, and its outcomes are set to guide upcoming field missions launching June 1 in Martinique and Guadeloupe. These upcoming on-site initiatives will bring together regional environmental bodies and technical partners to address shared marine and ecological issues impacting Caribbean island territories.
Per an official press statement from the SARSEA programme, the event kicked off on Tuesday with a core regional workshop focused on drafting national strategic frameworks for sargassum response. The opening session gathered roughly 60 delegates from environment and fisheries ministries, private sector entities focused on marine innovation, and civil society organizations across the Caribbean. Attendees are working to align on coordinated, cohesive approaches to confront the rapidly growing sargassum influx crisis that threatens coastlines, tourism and marine ecosystems across the region.
Tuesday evening saw the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States open a special exhibition tied to the Council of Ministers of Environmental Sustainability (COM-ES). Co-funded through the SARSEA programme, the exhibition showcases cutting-edge, creative solutions to recurring sargassum blooms and widespread marine pollution, while creating space for key regional stakeholders to connect and exchange insights.
On Wednesday, regional environment ministers and senior environmental officials gathered for the official COM-ES conference, which carries the overarching theme “Innovative Solutions to Protect a High-Risk Caribbean Environment.” During the plenary sessions, SARSEA representatives are scheduled to unveil the programme’s flagship initiative, alongside a set of strategic recommendations designed to improve sargassum response capacity and boost climate and ecological resilience for Caribbean island nations.
An operational committee meeting is also set for Wednesday afternoon, where attendees will finalize details for high-priority projects and actionable interventions set to roll out across the region over the coming months. The full series of regional events will wrap up on Thursday with a side event focused explicitly on biodiversity conservation, held in conjunction with the broader COM-ES summit. At this closing session, Expertise France will highlight ongoing Caribbean environmental projects, with a specific focus on scientific collaboration and cross-border knowledge sharing activities already underway in Martinique and Guadeloupe.