Following the growing controversy over sargassum (Sargassum) in Puerto Rico, they began to look for different alternatives to combat it and in the process, the non-profit organization of the Dominican Republic (DR) became known, SOS Carbon, who is responsible for its sustainable disposal in his country.
Photo by SOS Carbon, Dominican Republic
SOS Carbon explains that after the growing controversy on their shores, they began to consider different techniques that could help. The mechanical engineer and founder of the entity, Andrés Visonó, together with his team, devised a sustainable method that has been efficient for them.
The method consists of installing a hardware, designed by them at artisanal boats, also known as yolas in the DR, to collect sargassum that comes close to shore in a sustainable and cost-efficient manner.
“This collection has not only proven to be the most efficient, not only because of the yachts, but also because of the highly skilled labor force in the navigation of the area, but it is also a labor force in need, since it is informal. This is where our desire for social impact through community integration comes in,” Visonó said.
Photo by SOS Carbon, Dominican Republic
This collected sargassum can be used for other value chains, as a raw material for the production of food products.SOS Carbon has several pilot projects with other entities to take advantage of it.
SOS Carbon's goal is to be able to continue to generate programs for create sustainable sargassum products that cover the cost of harvesting, thereby creating a sustainable sales chain, as suggested by the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
Photo by SOS Carbon, Dominican Republic
“We, in addition to our efforts, try to create alliances and collaborations because we believe that teamwork can magnify and extend the impact we want to generate. An overnight change of man is not going to change what we experience, so we must create systems that allow us to deal with it in the most cost-efficient way and even be able to take advantage of it,” Visonó explains.
The Puerto Rican sargassum invasion
The sargassum controversy on the island takes a turn of greater current “concern”, since no movement is seen to attack the problem. The problem has even affected the electrical energy at some point, leaving 140,000 people without power.
And according to the government's “efforts,” they submitted to the House of Representatives the Resolution 0229 which states to request that the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources add to its work plan “solving” this problem after requesting funds and creating a plan.
In addition, the non-profit entity, Tortugueros del Sur, He indicated that this situation also affects the nesting process of sea turtles living on the coasts of Puerto Rico.
Expectations of combat over controversy
Photo by SOS Carbon, Dominican Republic
Among some efforts to get rid of the matter, SOS Carbon explains that the use of Heavy machinery at sea worsens the situation, eroding the area, and for this reason the methods used should be evaluated, which they indicate that the most favorable is that of the yachts.
Similarly, using sargassum as a raw material or fertilizer requires that the seaweed be dried and treated to remove the heavy metals and toxic components it contains. If not removed, these can be passed on to the plants or raw material, unfit for consumption.
Sargassum contains sulfur, nitrogen and heavy metals, but the most harmful is arsenic, which is a chemical present in large quantities.
Conservation Opportunity (CO) is in the process of formalizing an alliance with SOS Carbon, in order to work together against this problem and the rest of the environmental efforts in the Caribbean.
CO is also in the process of formulating and formalizing a project for sustainable sargassum collection.
“I hope that we can get permission from the DNER before the 2022 sargassum season and begin a Sargassum Management Project on the island. Ideally, by identifying entities interested in using the sargassum, as an organization we would be mobilizing volunteer efforts around the island to collect it and transport it to where it will be used,” said Fabiola Torres, founder of Conservation Opportunity.
“Primarily, we would collect sargassum deposited on priority beaches such as sea turtle nesting areas. In addition, we want to learn more about the use of sargassum to eventually provide workshops on how to properly process the sargassum depending on its intended use,” Torres added.