Following the project’s April commencement, partners, volunteers and staff of the Red Cross Society of Seychelles (RCSS) were hosted to an Information Session at the Roche Caiman District Administration on Thursday 19th September regarding the ongoing Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT) Project to develop Early Action Protocols for Seychelles.
This occurs months after the RCSS received a grant of two million Seychelles Rupees (SCR 2,000,000) to support Climate Change Adaptation in the Seychelles through Anticipatory Action & Last-Mile Community Early Warning Systems titled “Supporting Climate Change Adaptation in the Seychelles through Anticipatory Action & Last-Mile Community Early Warning Systems”. In this approach, the project intends to pinpoint the priorities for strengthening preparedness protocols and creating reliable last mile early warning systems reaching the vulnerable in the community.
Mr. Benjamin Vel, the Project Coordinator for the RCSS SeyCCAT Project, led the group of fifteen (15) participants, including partners such as the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs (MLGCA) and the Seychelles Police Force (SPF).
At the start of the session, contracts for two new consultants, Ms. Divina Sabino and Ms. Erna Victor, who will join the project by helping with review, analysis, and research to contribute to the National Early Action Protocol, were signed and presented by both parties alongside the Secretary General of the RCSS.
Following this, discussions began on issues surrounding Anticipatory Action (AA), whereby crucial opening questions were posed to attendees, such as “Do you know your district assembly point? “Are you familiar with your district’s evacuation route?”
With none of the participants knowing the answers, this allowed Mr. Vel to outline the purpose, significance and importance of the project along with providing an update on the work that has been completed thus far. This includes the ongoing advocacy for the project, participation in partner meetings, attendance at the National Workshop on Early Warning for All (EW4ALL), creation of promotional and educational materials for sharing, and presently the information session. In addition, Mr. Vel outlined some of the most significant problems with anticipatory action and emphasized key elements of early warning systems and EAP such as disaster risk knowledge, detection, monitoring, analysis, and forecasting, warning dissemination and communication, and preparedness alongside response capabilities.
Furthermore, having attended the Anticipatory Action Workshop in Johannesburg, South Africa, the previous month, Mr. Vel provided an outline of the session’s objectives and key takeaways for the attendees. These included the necessity of stakeholders for an efficient community of practice, the benefit of government support, including funding for proactive measures, and the significance of consistently updating impact-based weather forecasts to aid in the prepositioning and planning of goods that would eventually contribute to greater disaster preparedness.
At the end of the session, participants were given the chance to voice any concerns or questions which sparked conversations relating to the effectiveness of the levels of preparedness, anticipatory action and early warnings in Seychelles. Benefits of what the Early Action Protocols would bring to the communities in Seychelles once successfully implemented where also discussed which includes enhanced early warning systems and risk mitigation to ecosystem preservation and community empowerment.
