Mahé (Seychelles) – The Head of Cooperation of the European Union to the Republic of Seychelles opened the second Steering Committee of the "Seychelles Global Climate Change Alliance project". She reiterated the relevance of activities foreseen to address the recurrent flooding problems on La Digue.  

According to Ms Carla OSORIO, Head of Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Seychelles: "This important project provides the European Union with a formidable window to reiterate its commitment to support Government in the implementation of its National Climate Change Strategy, in line with commitments taken in COP 21 Conference. Last month the EU fielded a Results Oriented Monitoring (ROM) Mission to Seychelles to evaluate implementation progress. I am glad to point out that the project continues to remain highly relevant for La Digue. The activities are comprehensive being both science-based and practical. The Steering Committee had the opportunity to look into details in the recommendations of the monitoring mission and together we agreed on a common roadmap on how to ensure efficiency and sustainability for the remaining implementation period." 

According to the UNDP, the project is being welcomed by the La Digue community and will help to alleviate the pressure from recent climatic events such as the Felleng cyclone event in 2013. Activities for components 1 and 4 are well under way and components 2 and 3 are expected to be launched soon.  

At the margin of the Steering Committee meeting, the Head of Cooperation also met and discussed with the various stakeholders including local communities from La Digue. For the EU representative, it is essential to ensure the participation and involvement of local communities for the success of this project.  

The "Global Climate Change Alliance" was established by the European Union in 2007 with a total envelope of EUR 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, including Seychelles, in Africa, Asia, Pacific and Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. In light of its success, the European Union has allocated an additional envelope of EUR 350 million for the programme for the period 2014-2020. In addition, another EUR 70 million are also available for climate actions from the European Union regional funds until 2020.  

The programme for Seychelles was signed between the European Union and the Government of Seychelles in December 2014 to assist Government in developing its resistance to these changing climate patterns. The programme of EUR 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 are being implemented by the UNDP (United National Development Programme), given their experience and expertise in the domain in Mahé and in 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 salinization control measures. The activities will also focus on the restoration of wetlands, as a sustainable means to reduce flood risks.