Universities create a network for research, management and treatment of sargassum in the Dominican Republic
SANTO DOMINGO. The Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC), together with the universities APEC, UNPHU, PUCMM, UNIBE, UFHEC y UNISA signed an agreement for the implementation of a network for the investigation, management and treatment of sargassum in the country, through projects subsidized by public and private sector institutions.
The words of welcome were in charge of Franklyn Holguin Hache, Chancellor of the APEC University, who expressed the impact of sargassum in different areas at the national level. “The presence of sargassum on Dominican beaches not only affects the environment but also one of the country's main economic activities: tourism. This implies a timely, accurate and sustainable intervention over time, which allows solving the collection of sargassum with a lower operating cost and its use”.
The rector of INTEC Julio Sánchez Maríñez, After signing the agreement, he expressed the interest of the academic community in developing this alliance, in order to provide answers to the complex problems that this macroalga represents, since he considered that in the public sector there is still no leadership that assumes the problem of sargassum. .
The agreement was signed by Franklyn Holguín Haché, rector of the APEC University, along with Editrudis Beltrán Crisóstomo, rector of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD); Julio Sánchez Mariñez, rector of INTEC; Odile Camilo Vincent, rector of the Iberoamerican University (UNIBE); Alberto Ramírez Cabral, rector of the Federico Henríquez y Carvajal University (UFHEC) and Ángel María Castillo Brito, rector of the ISA University (UNISA).
The agreement was also signed by Juan Gabriel Faxas, Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM); and Josefina Pepín, vice-rector for research, outreach and internationalization at the Pedro Henríquez Ureña National University (UNPHU).
Alvin Rodríguez, Unapec Research Director, contextualized the signing of this agreement, stating that, "with this initiative, a commission will be formed that will be in charge of carrying out the operational part of the agreement, made up of the eight research directors of each of the signatory universities.
He added that, in this way, responses to this problem will be provided and will allow the development and strengthening of research, as well as the search for solutions based on scientific methods that contribute to the birth of new technologies.