Riviera Maya, Q.R. — The Secretariat of Ecology and Environment (Sema) says they are seeking financing for a comprehensive sargassum centre. The centre will be used to help the state earn back some of the $2 billion (dollars) it spends each season on sargassum containment.
Óscar Rébora Aguilar, the head of the Environment and Climate Change Commission of the 18th Legislature of Congress for Quintana Roo, says the state is looking to make better use of the sargassum that washes up on the coast each year.
Although there was no mass arrival of sargassum during 2024, a larger amount is expected for 2025. Already this year, sargassum collection this season is double what it was during the same time last year.
With that, Rébora Aguilar says given the cost of dealing with sargassum, Sema (Ecología y Medio Ambiente) is seeking funds for a Comprehensive Center for Sanitation and Circular Economy of Sargassum to make better use of the macro algae and thus obtain an economic benefit.
He says the money generated for a Centro Integral de Saneamiento y Economía Circular del Sargazo en Quintana Roo would be used to continue acquiring more equipment and tools for the containment of sargassum.
“It is one of the major phenomena that has affected the state’s economy. There are studies by the Inter-American Development Bank that show the cost to the state is around 11.6 percent of the local Gross Domestic Product, which means it costs approximately $2 billion dollars a year to contain.
“That is in addition to the losses we have had in hotel occupancy rates and is why the Governor is instructing us on how to address it by taking it to a circular economy council.”
Rébora Aguilar says the state is also looking at having the first biogas plant using sargassum, one of the projects presented for possible sargassum use.
Photo: Plays del Carmen March 2025.
“There are various projects that propose the use of sargassum in different industries. There is one by hoteliers for jet fuel, there are entrepreneurs who can make bags and bricks, but we have gone for a model with economic profitability.
“The one with most acceptable market and that will generate beneficial income for the state is the comprehensive center. Studies show that we can have a biogas station, fertilizers and we could enter into a carbon credit scheme, so we are looking for financing,” he explained.
He says that some pilot tests are already being carried out in the northern area, and that now, they are waiting for responses from funding sources with which they have a close relationship. Countries that have expressed interest include France, Spain, Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands.
