OECS takes on the Sargassum Challenge head-on

Published on November 3, 2025

The Sargassum Regional Strategies for Ecosystem-based Actions (SARSEA) project was officially launched on 28 October in Saint Lucia.

Funded by France through the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and implemented by Expertise France, in partnership with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission, the SARSEA project aims to limit the negative impacts of sargassum strandings on the local economy, communities and coastal ecosystems.

The opening ceremony brought together high-level figures of the region. All affirmed their support to the SARSEA project and their determination to take part in regional efforts to manage sargassum.

“For more than a decade, France has been at the forefront of the fight against sargassum, mobilising both the State and local authorities in Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Saint Martin to improve monitoring, collection, and treatment systems” said H.E. Marie-Noëlle Duris, French Ambassador to the Eastern Caribbean States, Barbados and the OECS.

The lessons learnt will be shared with OECS and Caribbean counterparts.

The official launch was highlighted by the signing of the formal partnership agreement (memorandum of understanding) between the OECS and Expertise France, in the presence of Mathilde De Williencourt, Deputy Director of the Sustainable Development Department at Expertise France, Chamberlain Emmanuel, Head of the OECS Environmental Sustainability Division, and Clara Dufresne, AFD Regional project manager.