Removing Sargassum from the beach in the Dominican Republic
Image taken by Ulises Jauregui, Playa Nigua, Dominican Republic (May 2020)
Sargassum strandings appear to create the biggest impact on vulnerable communities – however we have no proof of this. Therefore we aim to evaluate the socio-economic and physical impacts of stranding events on coastal communities and on livelihoods. The focus of our project is on the poorest in society, therefore we will focus on the sectors which often contain the largest numbers of low income and unskilled workers in developing countries, notably: agriculture and fisheries. After identifying a typology of affected locations, e.g. by proximity to coast, beach type and income level in the community, we will use remotely sensed data to identify the extent of sargassum impacts by type of area.
This evaluation will contribute to the co-development of a risk management strategy to build equitable resilience for Sargassum-affected communities. We will:
- Develop a typology of affected areas
- Understand the physical and social distribution of stranding events
- Create a conceptual framework to assess resilience to future stranding events
- Co-develop a risk management strategy
This work package is led by Prof Jadu Dash, Philip-Neri Jayson Quashigah, Dr Sien Van Der Plank and Yanna Alexia Fidai.
Outputs from this work package :