US$12 million available for projects against sargassum

Santo Domingo – The Ministry of Tourism (Mitur) reported that it has 10 million dollars to sponsor research or projects that minimize the impact of sargassum on the Dominican coasts.

The minister, David Collado, indicated that next week there will be the formal delivery of one million dollars for research carried out by the Dominican academy led by the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (Intec) and in which other Dominican universities participate.

“We are still in the Ministry of Tourism with a fund deposited in an escrow account in the Reserve Bank of 12 million dollars. We have already delivered one million dollars to the academy that will be announced next week, but they already have more than 20 or 30 days with the deposit made of one million dollars to the Dominican academy received by the Intec university,” explained the official.

Collado recalled that the sargassum problem affects other countries in the Caribbean and Central America that compete with the Dominican Republic at the level of tourism and do not have a real solution either.

He said that they want the sargassum to stop reaching the Dominican coasts but they have been cautious in delivering the resources, because the solution they will support would be real and long-term.

“The truth is that it is a global problem, that is why we have brought this to the attention of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to see how we join forces with more developed countries and with more technologies,” he said when answering questions from journalists.

In this scenario, the secretary general of the World Tourism Organization, Zurab Pololikashvili said that the sargassum challenge could be included in the sustainability strategy that will be designed for the Dominican Republic.