Congress of Quintana Roo will request resources from the Fonden to attend to the arrival of sargassum

Cancun, QRoo.- The Congress of Quintana Roo ready to issue an agreement point to request resources from the Natural Disaster Fund (The foundation) to face the massive arrival of sargassum.

“The Honorable Congress of the Union is urged to issue instructions to the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, within the scope of its powers, to declare the massive arrival of sargassum as a disturbing natural phenomenon, within the agreement by which the general rules of the natural disaster fund and the agreement that establishes the guidelines for the fund for emergency care are issued so that the municipalities of the state of Quintana Roo can access the resources of the Fonden ”, read in the legislative proposal.

They will also request the federal government through the Ministry of Tourism (It follows) that actions be implemented to combat the massive arrival of sargassum to the coasts of Quintana Roo.

Both points of agreement will be voted on Tuesday, April 18 in the entity’s Congress.

According to the University of South Florida, this year more than 20 million tons of sargasso in the framework, of which at least 5% would end up on the beaches of the Mexican Caribbean.

“This year it arrived in February and will continue, at least, until October. Satellite images reveal that in 2023 the arrival will be severe,” says Rosa Elisa Rodríguez Martínez, from the Academic Unit of Reef Systems in Puerto Morelos, according to UNAM.

The academic also refers in the study “Cleaning cost of pelagic sargassum in Mexico”, which when analyzing data on cleaning expenses in three municipalities of Quintana Roo (Puerto Morelos, Solidaridad and Tulum) and five hotels between Tulum and Cancun, the result yielded an approximate of 1.5 million dollars per year for each kilometer of coastline.

“It is onerous because it involves containment at sea through barriers of between 300 and 500 dollars. In addition, boats, conveyor belts, machines on the beach, equipment maintenance, transport trucks, places to deposit organic matter to avoid contaminating natural areas and a high number of personnel for each coastal stretch are required,” said Rodríguez Martínez.

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