Giving Voice to the Invisible Through the Use of Participatory Videos to Communicate Community-level Vulnerability to Pelagic Sargassum Influxes in the Eastern Caribbean

The islands of the eastern Caribbean have been experiencing unprecedented pelagic sargassum influx events for over a decade now, which has become a significant concern for the region. Several studies have been conducted on this phenomenon, highlighting the need for diverse management responses to address this issue. However, most countries, including Saint Lucia, have been primarily reactive in their approach towards managing sargassum strandings. They have failed to implement a structured and organised plan to manage the influxes of sargassum, resulting in an ad hoc and unplanned response (Brooks et al. 2018, CRFM 2019, Djakourè et al. 2017, Doyle and Franks 2015, Gower and King 2011, Hinds et al. 2016, Hu et al. 2016, Oxenford et al. 2016, Wang and Hu 2017). In 2017, a draft National Sargassum Management Plan was developed by the Government of Saint Lucia to address this issue. However, this Plan has several gaps and weaknesses, including a lack of consultation with the most vulnerable groups, who would be the most severely affected by sargassum influxes (Cox. Shelly-Ann, Oxenford, and McConney 2019). This is contrary to the approach that should be adopted while seeking to build resilience in communities. When dealing with physical constraints or discrimination, such as poverty, disability, and minority status, people usually have lower adaptive capacity. Therefore, their views and opinions should be considered while developing a Management Plan for sargassum influxes (Cutter, Mitchell, and Scott 2012, Yumarni et al. 2021). This research had a unique focus called the ‘Voice of the Invisible,’ which aimed to target the poor, disabled, women, and minority groups in three communities in Saint Lucia: Dennery, Praslin, and Micoud. These groups had been excluded from previous data collection processes for sargassum management, and their views had been ignored. This research allowed their ‘voices’ to be heard and their opinions to be captured. The approach was empowering and sought to be all-inclusive, bringing the ‘voice of the voiceless’ at the heart of the discussion. The forum aimed to enable community members to demand accountability and transparency from policymakers while building resilience in the communities (CANARI 2014).