Identifying and lifting climate adaptation barriers in Seychelles using a participatory approach

The paper describes a participatory approach using stakeholder mapping and 'barrier cards' to identify obstacles to climate adaptation in Seychelles. Findings reveal a disconnect between national planning and local implementation, with a critical lack of climate vulnerability data hindering the fisheries and tourism sectors. In agriculture, the primary barrier is the sector's low perceived economic priority. The authors recommend establishing a national adaptation office and improving data collection to bridge the gap between national policy and local action.

• The participatory methodology revealed that climate adaptation planning in Seychelles is dominated by national ministries and agencies, while local actors remain limited in their involvement in both planning and implementation.
• In the fisheries and tourism sectors, the primary barrier to implementing adaptation actions is a lack of evidence and data regarding climate change vulnerability, driven by poor communication of science and perceptions of uncertain data.
• Stakeholders in the agriculture sector identified a unique barrier: the sector is not viewed as a priority because it generates limited foreign exchange, which threatens national food security.
• Proposed practical actions to address data gaps include creating an institutional setup for climate change data collection and establishing a national adaptation office to coordinate research and monitoring involving all stakeholders.
• Funding for climate adaptation is primarily sourced from international organisations and tends to remain at the national level, specifically within the Ministry of Finance and the Development Bank of Seychelles, with limited funds reaching local actors in tourism and fisheries.

APA

STANTON, M. B., & DOWNING, T. E. (2014). Identifying and lifting climate adaptation barriers in Seychelles using a participatory approach. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Working-Paper-Identifying-and-lifting-climate-adaptation-barriers-in-Seychelles-using-participatory-approach.pdf

Chicago

STANTON, Muriel BONJEAN, and Thomas E. DOWNING. Identifying and lifting climate adaptation barriers in Seychelles using a participatory approach. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2014. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Working-Paper-Identifying-and-lifting-climate-adaptation-barriers-in-Seychelles-using-participatory-approach.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=STANTON |first1=Muriel BONJEAN |last2=DOWNING |first2=Thomas E. |title=Identifying and lifting climate adaptation barriers in Seychelles using a participatory approach |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=2014 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Working-Paper-Identifying-and-lifting-climate-adaptation-barriers-in-Seychelles-using-participatory-approach.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stanton2014identifying, author = {STANTON, Muriel BONJEAN and DOWNING, Thomas E.}, title = {{Identifying and lifting climate adaptation barriers in Seychelles using a participatory approach}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2014}, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Working-Paper-Identifying-and-lifting-climate-adaptation-barriers-in-Seychelles-using-participatory-approach.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }