How a growing industry is helping fix Mexico's seaweed problem

There’s 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’.

In a region where tourism makes up nearly 90 per cent of GDP, piles of sargassum are contributing to an economic and ecological disaster.

But now, with support from UNEP and the Global Funds for Coral Reefs, enterprising businesses are taking the problem weed and turning it into sustainable products like eco-friendly fertilizer, products for cosmetics, and vegan leather.