SANTO DOMINGO.- The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) adopted on Thursday the resolution “Strengthening the global response to the massive influx of sargassum blooms”, drafted and presented by the Dominican Republic, co-sponsored by Barbados and Jamaica.
The resolution constitutes the first instrument adopted by the UNEA that explains the sargassum phenomenon and the first resolution presented by the Dominican Republic to this body, consolidating years of diplomatic work to highlight the impact of the massive bloom of this macroalga.
The text acknowledges that the massive influx of sargassum seaweed represents a serious and growing socioeconomic and environmental problem, disproportionately affecting the Greater Caribbean and West Africa regions, with serious repercussions for the economy, sustainable development, tourism, marine biodiversity, fisheries, livelihoods, and public health. It also highlights that the phenomenon poses an emerging challenge for other regions of the world.
The Dominican Republic played a central role in the negotiation process, facilitating consensus and articulating the interests of the most affected countries. The head of the Dominican delegation and lead negotiator, Claudia Taboada, Minister-Counselor at the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, stated that, “this result is the fruit of more than four years of effort to place the issue of sargassum on the global agenda. Although the final text does not fully reflect our initial ambition, it represents a decisive step: it is the country’s first resolution before the UNEA and the first
Through this resolution, UNEA requests the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to prepare a comprehensive report that assesses existing initiatives on sargassum and to convene a high-level meeting to analyze its findings and strengthen international cooperation.
