Episode 9: Nature based solutions and social impacts of Sargassum with Dr. Debbie Bartlett

In this episode we talk to Dr. Debbie Bartlett.  She is Professor of Environmental Conservation at University of Greenwich. Her background is in consultancy, and she had experience of working for local authorities and government agencies before moving to full time employment in academia. Together with John Milledge who we interviewed in Episode 5 she works on a Darwin Plus Project to find Sustainable Solutions for Sargassum Inundations in the Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI). As part of this, she conducted one of the first studies to determine the social and economic impacts Sargassum has on island communities.

Listen to the episode to hear about:
- Sargassum muticans, an invasive species in the UK (2:30)
- Pelagic Sargassum as a community (3:40)
- Nature based solutions (4:00)
- Importance of local people’s input (6:00)
- How to involve local communities in issues that happen in the connected ocean (6:30)
- Sargassum on hotel beaches creates employment opportunities (8:46)
- Gamefishers like Sargassum mats but pull in more fish with shark bites (9:30)
- Local fishermen are likely not impacted by Sargassum in the TCI (12:00)
- Effect of Sargassum on Seagrass beds in the TCI (14:00)
- Different things we do not understand yet about Sargassum (17:30)
- Impact of Sargassum on Mangroves (18:00)
- Need for basic science on Sargassum (18:30)
- For a Sargassum industry you need to know how much is arriving to your island (20:00)
- Determine where does the Sargassum do the most damage and where does it the most good (21:00)
- Debbie’s surprise when she witnessed a “cruise boat day” on Grand Turk(24:00)
- Dive tourism concerned about bad publicity that comes with Sargassum(28:00)
- Sargassum affects jet ski operators massively(28:30)
- Hotel are often worries about their image when islands receive Sargassum (29:45)
- Is there a coordinate effort between all stakeholders involved in the TCI? (31:30)
- Can you extrapolate the results from TCI to other areas? (36:30)
- Solutions to the Sargassum problem threat the symptoms but not the cause (39:30)

Resources mentioned during the podcast:
֍ Bartlett D (2020) Chapter 5 Landscape Character Assessment: A method to include community perspectives and ecosystem services in landuse planning in Nature based Solutions: Science, Innovations and Strategies in South Asia.  Ed Dhyani S, Gupta A K and Karki M. Volume 1 in the Springer Nature series Disaster Resilience and Green Growth
֍ Onus or Bonus? Researchers assess the impact of sargassum seaweed in the TCI. ֍ Sargassum uses guide (published by CERMES)

֍ Milledge JJ Maneein S, Arribas López Bartlett D (2020) Sargassum Inundations in Turks and Caicos: Methane Potential and Proximate, Ultimate, Lipid, Amino Acid, Metal and Metalloid Analyses Energies 2020, 13(6), 1523;
֍Bartlett D (2020) Golden Tides – A Collaborative Search for a Sustainable Solution to the Seaweed Inundations on Caribbean Beaches In Practice - Bulletin of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management, 107: p30-33
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