PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

John Briceno of Belize, elected Vice President of the SIDS DOCK Assembly, announces $50 million
project to mitigate against the Sargassum seaweed invasion damaging Caribbean economies

27 September 2023, UN Headquarters, New York: The Honourable Mr. John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize, was appointed Vice President of the 7th session of the SIDS DOCK Assembly on Monday, 25th September 2023. Prime Minister John Briceño, whose term will start in January 2024, was elected by acclamation during a ceremony held virtually, and in the margins of the General Debate of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), at UN Headquarters, in New York.

“We are all banking on the Blue Economy, and for Belize, our all-important Green and Orange Economies, so we must take immediate action to mitigate against the Sargassum seaweed invasion damaging Caribbean economies,” he said, and announced that Belize will be developing and deploying the first pilot project to develop and deploy the Caribbean region’s first waste-to-energy facility, a $50 million investment, capable of converting Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and Sargassum to biofuels as a diesel replacement fuel, and to execute a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for baseload sustainable power from the facility, for potential scale-up through climate finance and other sources of funding. Prime Minister Briceño has responsibility for the SIDS DOCK Waste-to-Energy Portfolio. “This initiative comes at no financial cost to the Government of Belize, and this is one of the values and advantages of a public-private partnership,” he said.

He said Belize, SIDS DOCK, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) have found a solution to help mitigate against the ongoing Sargassum seaweed invasion that is hampering the region’s post-COVID recovery. The Belize solution is converting “the golden tide” to sustainable energy. He said the partners conducted a mission to Germany, in September 2022, and after discussions and research, formed a Public-Private Partnership with Belize signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Variodin, Ag., a German company specializing in development of technologies for energy and waste conversion, for the development and deployment of a multi-purpose SIDS-Appropriate Waste-to-Energy Facility that will process MSW and Sargassum to biofuels.

Prime Minister Briceño has been raising the alarm about the Sargassum seaweed invasion that is causing economic, social and environmental wreckage across Belize and the Caribbean, one of the world’s top tourist destinations, severely impacting the fisheries industry and swamping coastlines, turning the region’s key selling point – its pristine, white sandy beaches – into a landscape of mounds of decomposing, smelly and harmful Sargassum. Removal is a vicious cycle of never-ending Sargassum, a cycle that removes the seaweed but also the sand, causing further damage to the coastline. It is estimated that the Caribbean spends approximately $120 million, annually, to collect and dispose of rotting seaweed off beaches. In 2022, the region saw an invasion of some 24 million tonnes of the seaweed. The Sargassum invasion poses a grave threat to the world’s most breath-taking ecosystem, so large, it can be seen from space – the Belize Barrier Reef, a colourful kaleidoscope of exotic reef fishes, living colour-changing corals and other marine species, co-existing within a biosphere of over 200 islands and cayes; it contributes millions of dollars to the Belize tourism industry and provides significant employment.

“The Caribbean faces a huge challenge in implementing basic solid waste management infrastructure, which reports say, requires investment of up to $2.5 billion. This initiative mitigates the threat to the tourism sector and opens new avenues for public-private partnerships. Research conducted shows that conversion of Sargassum into the Belize energy mix is a viable solution to the problem” he said. Prime Minister Briceño said the Waste-to-Energy Programme aligns seamlessly with the newly-elected SIDS DOCK President’s agenda to “Survive and Thrive,” and offers women and young people more opportunities, as well as protecting present ones and the health of the population. He said while complete mitigation is not possible now, control is within reach, and encouraged his fellow Heads of State and Government to support the initiative, noting that their “investment in collective efforts is not just financial; it’s an investment in our shared future and the well-being of all citizens,” he said.

During the ceremony, the Assembly also elected by acclamation, His Excellency Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan, President of the Republic of Seychelles as President of the 7th session of the SIDS DOCK Assembly representing the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea Region (AIS), and the Honourable Siaosi ‘Ofakivahafolau Sovaleni (Hon. Huʻakavameiliku), Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga as Vice President representing the Pacific Region. The Assembly further elected by acclamation, His Excellency Mr. Steve Ferrol, Ambassador of the Commonwealth of Dominica to the United States of America and the Organization of American States, as a member of the SIDS DOCK Executive Council, representing the Caribbean Region, for the term 2024 to 2026. The ceremony was also attended by members of the SIDS DOCK who are also members of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), UNIDO, the SIDS DOCK Institutional Partner, non-SIDS Permanent Members of the United Nations from Austria, Japan and Spain, other SIDS DOCK Partners and Observers.

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SIDS DOCK is a United Nations (UN)-recognised international organisation established in 2015, with all the rights and privileges for addressing climate change, resilience, and energy security in small islands. SIDS DOCK represents 32 small islands and low-lying developing states across the globe. It is so named because it is designed as a “DOCKing station” to connect the energy sector in SIDS with the global markets for finance and sustainable energy technologies. The organisation’s work is coordinated by the Secretariat in Belmopan, Belize.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Christine Neves Duncan Chief of Staff & Project DirectorSIDS DOCK Secretariat Belmopan, Belize cduncan@sidsdock.org