Since 2011, the Caribbean has faced an unprecedented ecological phenomenon: the recurring influx of sargassum from the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt. Each year, between April and August, thick mats of this floating brown algae reach the region’s coastlines, affecting more than 20 countries.

Despite playing a natural role in the open ocean, sargassum’s arrival to Caribbean shores has brought social, environmental, and economic disruption. Cleanup operations alone exceed an estimated US$120m annually across the Caribbean and decomposing sargassum releases gases threaten human health while smothering coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangroves – precious Caribbean ecosystems that sustain fisheries, tourism, and coastal livelihoods.

Rich economic potential

Yet, at the same time, Sargassum represents a valuable, underused resource thanks to its biomass and rich chemical composition. It has multiple uses: bioenergy, fertilizers, industrial materials, cosmetics, and other bio-based products.

Caribbean-wide, innovators and community cooperatives are exploring how to transform Sargassum from challenge into opportunity – creating jobs, fostering innovation, and strengthening resilience. This dialogue convened by the World Bank shifts the focus from crisis management to sustainable resource development, in alignment with the Bank’s goals of inclusive growth and adaptation.

This discussion brings together policymakers, private-sector innovators, civic leaders, and experts from the World Bank and partner institutions to examine how sargassum can be managed as a renewable resource rather than a recurring disaster. The session will begin with a look at the economic and environmental impacts of recurrent influxes on key sectors such as tourism and fisheries. Understanding these interlinked effects is vital to designing responses that protect natural assets and sustain coastal communities.