By S.Browne. Updated 12:17 p.m., Saturday, February 21, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
The Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has received approximately USD $2 million in specialised equipment under the Project for Improving National Sargassum Management Capacities in the Caribbean. The equipment was handed over on Thursday, 19 February 2026, to strengthen the country’s sargassum response efforts.
The items, which include three tractors, two workboats and personal protective equipment (PPE), were funded by the Government of Japan through the Japan Grant Aid and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Speaking at the handover ceremony at the Modern Port in Kingstown, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Barbados, Stephanie Ziebell, highlighted that the project “aims to build national readiness to monitor, respond to and manage sargassum, strengthen early warning operations and community awareness, and equip national agencies with the right tools, protocols and training to support safe and environmentally responsible clean-ups.”
Minister of Fisheries, Marine and Land Conservation and Climate Resilience, Conroy Huggins, in delivering the feature address, said the equipment significantly enhances the country’s ability to execute rapid and organised sargassum response operations.
He noted that sargassum remains one of the most persistent and visible climate-related challenges affecting the nation’s coastline, adding that “this project was designed not merely to respond to sargassum events but to fundamentally change how we manage them.”
The sargassum removal equipment is valued at approximately USD $2 million.
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This information was sourced from a press release sent to us by the Agency for Public Information.
