As waves of sargassum continue to flood Caribbean coastlines — stifling aquatic life, disrupting tourism, and burdening local economies — experts are working to unlock the seaweed’s potential as a value-added resource.

At a World Bank–led webinar on Tuesday, policymakers, private-sector innovators, and technical specialists from partner institutions examined how the brown smelly algae which first washed up on Caribbean shores in 2011 can be managed as a renewable resource and a platform for new livelihoods, green industries, and sustainable blue-economy growth rather than a recurring ecological disaster.

The seaweed, which steadily washes ashore and clogs the coastlines of more than 20 countries, has not only threatened tourism, but has also crippled fisheries, strained public health systems, and inflicted an estimated US$120 billion in annual clean-up costs and economic losses across the Caribbean. As a result, what was once a natural and manageable phenomenon has now evolved into a complex, multi-sectoral challenge affecting marine life and the livelihoods of thousands.

“We want to transform this eco-challenge into an engine of opportunity for the people of the Caribbean and their economies,” said Lilia Burunciuc, director for Caribbean countries at the World Bank as she spoke on the issue during her opening statement.

The World Bank director, in highlighting ongoing projects such as a renewable gas production in Barbados; fertiliser and bio-stimulant manufacturing in St Lucia; and community-led adaptation across the territories of Belize, Grenada, and St Lucia said that innovators are not waiting but through their innovative efforts have started to look show what’s possible.

Among the areas so far identified by experts having strong commercial promise are bioenergy (biogas, power generation); agricultural inputs (compost, fertilisers, biostimulants); and processed intermediates (pellets, dried biomass). Within these sectors lie immediate opportunities in mass collection and disposal, operation of processing facilities, and manufacturing of sargassum-based products.

“There are many more ideas that are possible and will hopefully be coming down the road,” Burunciuc added.

Patrick Smytzek, natural resources management specialist at the World Bank speaking in his presentation, said that the World Bank, through its ‘Unleashing the Blue Economy of the Caribbean’ (EUBEC) programme has already put forward a financing envelope of approximately US$92.6 million geared towards providing a platform for coordinated action around dealing with sargassum in the region.

“Our work on sargassum has been supported by the Blue Multidonor Trust Fund as well as the Global Programme on Sustainability,” he noted.

The World Bank, backed by a coalition of other international and regional bodies such as the European Union (EU) and Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), has been actively charting a path to identify and exploit the emerging opportunities.

To support innovation in the area, the bodies through various partnerships have sought to deploy a range of financial support in the form of blended financing, concessional loans, guarantees, and other funding vehicles to speed up the process of valorisation.

“There’s also probably a need for high-risk seed funding in forms of grants to help particularly start-ups to develop more innovative solutions,” Smytzek said.

In Barbados, where renewable gas is now being produced from sargassum, innovators achieved a significant milestone last year: the first test drive of electric vehicles powered by sargassum-derived compressed natural gas (CNG).

“We were fortunate — we won grants and had great donors who gave us financing to make Test Drive Zero a success,” said Dr Legena Henry, founder and CEO of Rum & Sargassum Inc and lecturer in renewable energy at The University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus. “It took over US$600,000 in grant and investor funding to get to that point — which equates to the cost of about two houses in Barbados.”

Her company is now advancing a larger biogas pilot, aiming to power three gasoline cars and a diesel truck on sargassum — an effort aligned with Barbados’ goal of becoming 100 per cent fossil-free by 2035.

Similarly, in Grenada where a national task force has been established to spearhead mass collection of sargassum, Ambassador Jerry Enoe, Grenada’s special envoy for oceans and blue economy advisor within the Ministry of Blue Economy and Marine Affairs and strategic advisor for oceans and blue economy to the director general of the OECS said that strategic partnerships with the EU has greatly helped to bolster the country’s collection drive. Grenada currently aims to collect 10,000 pounds of sargassum annually by 2026

Beyond financing, David Mogollón, head of cooperation at the EU, stressed the need for greater research, better regulatory and policy frameworks along with a tighter public-private partnerships, citing them as important parts of the puzzle that will be needed if the region is to fully harness the potential of sargassum.

If these elements can come together seamlessly, another expert believes sargassum could become a catalyst for a Caribbean circular economy — one that not only generates jobs but also encourages investment and strengthens environmental resilience.

“What will make large-scale collection commercially viable and sustainable is the processing of sargassum and product development — that’s where the value is. That’s also what will transform a waste-disposal challenge into a circular economy,” Sophia Herrou, associate operations officer at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) said.

Private-sector innovators and technical specialists discussing the economic potential of sargassum at a World Bank webinar held this week.