The Department of Energy and Climate Affairs officially launched its new SeyCCAT Blue Grants Fund 8 project during a stakeholder inception workshop held at Lescale, marking a significant step toward strengthening Seychelles’ resilience to climate change.
The project, titled “Building the resilience of Seychelles from climate change impacts through improved long-term coastal monitoring and evidence-based decision-making,” is funded by the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT) with a total allocation of SCR 1,801,360. It will run for two years with a focus on vulnerable coastal areas on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue.
Addressing stakeholders at the workshop, the Director General for the Department of Energy and Climate Affairs, Justin Prosper reiterated the urgency of the initiative.
“Seychelles is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Sea-level rise, coastal erosion, extreme weather events, and ecosystem degradation are no longer distant projections — they are realities we are already confronting,” he stated in his openning address, adding that this represent a “significant step into building true resilience.”
Presenting the project scope, methodology and expected outcomes, the Director for Climate Science and Data Management, Mrs Jemima Doudee outlined several key deliverables of the project.
“Some of the outputs will include risk and hazard maps, standardized monitoring protocols, guidelines to support a national climate community of practice, and a national climate change symposium to consolidate learning and share results,” she explained.
Another key component of the initiative will be the establishment of a Climate Change Knowledge Hub, in collaboration with the University of Seychelles and the Seychelles National Bureau of Statistics, which will serve as a centralized repository for climate-related data, research and policies, improving accessibility for decision-makers, researchers and the public.
The Ministry also highlighted that additional funding opportunities for climate change solutions are available through this initiative and called on stakeholders and partners to actively support and apply for funding to advance climate resilience efforts across Seychelles.