Just days after experts in Quintana Roo, Mexico projected the region would be spared by nagging sargassum seaweed this month, the state's governor has deemed beaches in places like Cancun clean and free of the smelly algae.
Quintana Roo Governor Carlos Joaquin Gonzalez applauded President Lopez Obrador and recent efforts by the federal government to preserve tourist hotspots, according to Mexico News Daily.
"We're waiting for more infrastructure, more boats, more barriers that will work in coordination with the navy, which has yielded good results up to now," he said.
While officials are encouraged, a local construction industry expert has found a potential silver lining. Ricardo Lambreton Lopez-Ostolaza claims the seaweed can be put to use to make bricks for low-cost housing.
"Advances in the industry have given us the opportunity to build houses and other structures ecologically and affordably," he said. "We should take advantage of problems like this, putting the resources to good use, rather than wasting them."
"It's incredible how such an opportunity has arisen from this problem, which is now seen to have a great social impact for nearby areas of extreme poverty," Lopez-Ostolaza added.
Tourism developer Grupo Vidanta recently led efforts to install specialized marine-mesh barriers to catch the seaweed before it reaches Riviera Maya's beaches in the wake of some hotels actually transferring guests to sargassum-free areas.
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