EU-Seychelles partnership in climate change |24 February 2017
EU ambassador inspects flood adaptation projects on La Digue
The Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to the Republic of Seychelles undertook a site visit to La Digue in the context of the coastal flood adaptation and mitigation activities of the ‘Seychelles Global Climate Change Alliance project’.
Ms Sall said through this project, the EU reiterates its commitment to support the Seychelles government in the implementation of its National Climate Change Strategy, in line with commitments taken in COP 21 Conference.
“The EU is particularly pleased to assist local communities improve their resilience to the climate change and hence their livelihood. By addressing the recurrent flood problems on La Digue this project is expected to impact directly on the health of the local population by reducing the incidence of water borne diseases. Secondly bearing in mind the negative impact of floods on local economic activities namely agriculture and tourism, the project is expected to sustain the economic livelihood of the local population. I am confident that this project will leave a footprint in the white sands of La Digue, that will constantly remind us of the close bonds uniting Seychelles with the European Union,” said Ms Sall after the visit.
For his part Seychelles Minister for Environment, Energy and Climate Change Didier Dogley remarked that climate change poses an existential threat to small islands communities like the one on La Digue. “During the last three years the people of La Digue have suffered from extreme weather events, which have caused widespread flooding, disruption to livelihoods and posed a major health risk. At the same time the ground water aquifer which is the main source of potable water for the Diguois was also being threatened by the intrusion of salt water as coastal erosion continued unabated inland. Through targeted investments from the government of Seychelles and financial support from the EU in the form of GCCA and GCCA+ we will be able to reduce the vulnerability of the local community and strengthen their resilience against the greatest threat of our time, climate change,” Minister Dogley said.
The objective of the site visit was to meet stakeholders on La Digue and discuss the project and its implementation. For the EU ambassador, it is essential to ensure the participation and involvement of local communities for the success of this project….and it is this type of engagement that creates a compelling hope for a sustainable future. “Local communities should be involved as much as possible to ensure that its results meet their expectations,” said Ambassador Sall.
The programme ‘Seychelles Global Climate Change Alliance project’ was established by the European Union in 2007 with a total envelope of €285 million for the period 2008 to 2013. The objective is to support developing countries and small islands developing states in their endeavours to adapt to climate change. To-date the programme has supported more than 70 programmes in over 50 countries in Africa, Asia, Pacific and the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. In light of its success, the EU has allocated an additional envelope of €350 million for the programme for the period 2014-2020. In addition, another €70 million are also available for climate actions from the EU regional funds until 2020.
The programme for Seychelles was signed between the EU and the government of Seychelles in December 2014 to assist government in developing its resistance to these changing climate patterns. The programme of €3 million is part of the European Union Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA+) which aims at strengthening dialogue and cooperation with developing countries, in particular least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing States (Sids). The GCCA + is one of the most significant climate initiatives in the world.
A major component of the project concerns the implementation of coastal climate change adaptation in risk-prone areas on La Digue. These activities will be implemented by the UNDP (United National Development Programme), given their experience and expertise in the domain on Mahé and La Digue. The project is expected to run until 2019.
Activities that will be implemented include the preparation of an Integrated Shoreline Management Plan, hydrological and topographic studies on flood buffering and salinisation control measures. The activities will also focus on the restoration of wetlands, as a sustainable means to reduce flood risks.