Congratulations to our 2024 Grantees!

After a highly competitive evaluation process undertaken by the GSC Scientific and Strategic Advisory Councils, the Global Seaweed Coalition Leadership Committee gathering our founding partners from UN Global Compact, CNRS and Lloyds Register Foundation made the final selection of projects to be funded under GSC’s 3^rd Call for Proposals. The Global Seaweed Coalition is proud to announce:

• Yunus Foundation in Thailand will propose a capacity-building approach to unlock the potential of seaweed for the empowerment of low-income coastal communities, particularly women. Building on GSC supported Safe Seaweed Thailand project, the project shall develop product and value chain innovation for a self-sustaining and scalable model focusing on the commercially underutilized Caulerpa racemosa and C. lentifillera species.
• Universidad de Los Lagos’s i~mar center in Chile will offer an alternative for kelp biomass utilization, long-term storage and enrichment using ensilage techniques for Macrocystis pyrifera. Two key aspects will be evaluated: using additives and different physical configurations for fermentation. Finally, a technical and economic analysis will be performed to assess the implications of large-scale seaweed ensilage implementation in this region.
• Algolesko in France will precisely, rigorously and innovatively measure the biodiversity impact of seaweed cultivation. The results of this study supported by the Roscoff Biological Station could accelerate the development of the seaweed sector. The project will feed a larger initiative of international scientific cooperation promoting its communication and stakeholder engagement to promote the benefits of seaweed as it will be part of a larger 3-year project involving the applicants together with an international network.
• Mavunolab in Zanzibar will deploy low-cost solar dryers to small-scale seaweed farmers in Dimani and Nyamanzi villages, Unguja Island leading to safer, reliable, and efficient seaweed processing in Zanzibar. Many small-scale seaweed farmers rely on traditional seaweed drying practices, particularly open sun drying, which is inefficient and exposes seaweed consumers to several health risks and food safety hazards, including contamination of microplastics and sand.
• The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in Samoa will place the control of aquatic food systems in the hands of local communities, through facilitating their right to define their own supply chains for local markets and home consumption and addresses the root cause of food and nutrition insecurity. Seaweeds are underutilized in the Pacific Island Countries, including Samoa.
• Kelp Forest Foundation in Namibia will undertake studies to assess cultivated giant kelp’s (Macrocystis sp.) potential at mitigating ocean acidification within a kelp farm and the corresponding effect on calcifying organisms that settle on Kelp Blue’s farm structures. The project will to measure the effect of kelp in reducing excess nutrients from ambient seawater, and promote bioremediation through co-growing practices.
• Ocean Farmers in Madagascar will develop commercially viable and climate-resilient local strains of Kappaphycus sp. for community aquaculture, in collaboration with academia and the government of Madagascar. Ocean Farmers currently contracts 3,000 seaweed farming households, with the activity providing an alternative income source for coastal communities, reducing reliance on destructive fishing practices.
• Rézomes in Zanzibar and Madagascar will develop a low-tech open-source process capable of transforming seaweed with low added value into safe and accessible organic fertilizers for farming communities. This innovative low-tech solution for local agriculture will use a combination of low-tech processes inspired by bokashi and indigenous techniques, and can be replicated in South East Asia.

 

This third round of funding leads to a total of USD 1.5m for all projects supported by the GSC over 3 years. Selected proposals will join our portfolio of supported projects and contribute to the improvement of safety in the global seaweed sector. Project outcomes will be made publicly available to maximize global impact. Stay tuned!