VICE-CHANCELLOR of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Professor Sir Hilary Beckles has called for the establishment of a Sargassum support fund, and an emergency agency to coordinate a region-wide response to the seaweed affecting Caribbean states.
He described the situation as the greatest single threat to Caribbean economies and an international crisis.
Speaking at the start of the Sargassum Symposium yesterday at the 3Ws Pavilion, UWI, Cave Hill, he estimated that 10 000 tonnes of the seaweed is being dumped on beaches across the region daily.
As a result, he said the Mexican strategy in which US$10 million and 5 000 people are being utilised to clean critical beaches on a daily basis would not work in the region since it could reach as much as US$120 million and use the services of 100 000 people.
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