Under the heading “Supporting Climate Change Adaptation in the Seychelles through Anticipatory Action & Last-Mile Community Early Warning Systems,” the RCSS will be working to develop early action protocols for Seychelles. This comes 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. Considering no other nation in the Indian Ocean has an early action protocol system like this in place, it will actually be the very first in the region.
To assist grantees in managing their particular projects and guarantee that the finished results met SEYCCAT’s standards for quality and compliance, the Blue Grants Fund (BGF) Project Implementation Workshop was conducted last Wednesday at the CEPS Conference Room. Instructions and templates for monitoring and evaluation procedures, financial reporting, technical reporting, and other reporting were presented. In attendance for the RCSS was Mrs. Barbara Carolus Andre and Mr. Benjamin Vel.
As a whole, the RCSS will work with The Seychelles Meteorological Authority (SMA), the Disaster Risk Management Division (DRMD), along with everyone else concerned with climate change and the environment will be working together in order to accomplish this.
Quoting from the RCSS Secretary General “We hope that the partners would be onboard from the very start as it is crucial for everyone to know how the procedures work, and for us to understand how it will be implemented and operated. This is why it is important that all partners are present alongside us. Furthermore, by doing so, we can make sure that our early action protocol reflects Seychelles and that we can determine when it will be most useful.”
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.
Communities can receive advance warnings of storm surges and floods by improving the ability to track meteorological trends and forecast them. All things considered, Seychelles Anticipatory Action for Storm Surges & Floods offers a host of advantages, from enhanced early warning systems and risk mitigation to ecosystem preservation and community empowerment.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) will further support this effort by providing technical assistance to the RCSS during the development phase, with the goal of ensuring that the Early Action Protocol is implemented within the anticipated 18-month timeframe following the project’s April commencement. After that, the EAP will be operationalized for five years using funding provided by the IFRC. This covers funding for preparation expenses, such as hiring personnel, enhancing capacity with national and local government agencies, safeguarding coastal protection, and ensuring ecosystem-based adaptation. Additionally, funding would be given for early action activities, stockpiling of relief supplies to help communities before floods affect them, and prepositioning of stock, as well as for any implementation-related operational expenditures.
Maria Martinez, Head of Country Cluster Delegation, Indian Ocean Island states that ‘Through the SEYCCAT grant, the Seychelles Red Cross will develop an Early Action Protocol that will enable the National Society (NS) to undertake anticipatory actions before the disaster strikes and enhance the NS capacity as first responders.’ She further commented that ‘The IFRC is pleased to accompany RCSS in this process, in close collaboration with the government of Seychelles.’
The Blue Grants Fund of SeyCCAT provides funding to significant projects headed by Seychellois that support sustainable fishing, marine conservation, the creation of new and existing Marine Protected Areas and Sustainable Use Zones, and a few other blue sectors. Out of seventy-six (76) projects, twenty-one (21) have been given the go-ahead.
