Dominican Republic’s environmental milestone: achieves first resolution on sargassum at the UNEA

The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) adopted the resolution “Strengthening the global response to the massive influx of Sargassum blooms,” drafted and presented by the Dominican Republic and co-sponsored by Barbados and Jamaica, marking a milestone for the country’s environmental diplomacy and the Greater Caribbean region.

This resolution constitutes the first instrument adopted by the UNEA to address the phenomenon of Sargassum, and the first resolution presented by the Dominican Republic to this body, consolidating years of diplomatic work to highlight the growing impact of the massive blooms of this macroalga.

It is worth remembering that President Luis Abinader highlighted the urgency in the Caribbean to find a solution to the arrival of these algae on beaches, their impact on tourism, and how the Dominican Republic has been addressing this issue.

The text acknowledges that massive influxes of Sargassum represent a ‘serious and growing socio-economic and environmental problem that disproportionately affects the Greater Caribbean and West Africa region, 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.

Through this resolution, UNEA requests the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to prepare a comprehensive report assessing existing initiatives on Sargassum and to convene a high-level meeting to analyze its findings and strengthen international cooperation.

The Dominican Republic played a central role in the negotiation process, facilitating consensus and articulating the interests of the most affected countries.

Therefore, 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 global resolution on sargassum.”