Theres a problem piling up on the shores of Mexico's famous Yucatan Peninsula.
Since 2011, a brown seaweed called sargassum has been drifting onto the popular beaches of Quintana Roo. In 2019, it got so bad that local officials declared a seaweed emergency.
Sargassum is a free-floating brown seaweed that blossoms naturally in the warm waters of the Sargasso Sea of the Northern Atlantic Ocean. The unprecedented recent influx of Sargassum seaweed on coastal shores is being attributed to factors that include warming of the ocean due to climate change, and discharge of macronutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus that forms from agricultural run-off and wastewater released in the environment.
In a region where tourism makes up nearly 90 per cent of the gross domestic product, piles of sargassum are contributing to an economic and ecological disaster. But now, with support from the UN Environment Programme and the Global Funds for Coral Reefs, local businesses are taking the problem weed and turning it into sustainable products like eco-friendly fertilizer, products for cosmetics and vegan leather.
GFCR is a public-private coalition deploying a range of financial solutions and support for sustainable businesses to improve the resilience of coastal ecosystems, economies, and communities.
The Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) was established to accelerate urgent investment and action to enhance the resilience of coastal reef ecosystems, communities and economies. The GFCR comprises two major financial vehicles: a UN-ledGrant Fundand a private-sector-ledlarge-scale private equity impact Investment Fund. The GFCR aims to promote sustainable ocean production, spur sustainable coastal development and ecotourism, forge circular economies and pollution management, and enable technologies for a sustainable future.
