Marine and Coastal EbA for Enhanced Resilience in Southern Africa Country Review: Seychelles

The Seychelles is implementing ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) to combat climate threats such as sea-level rise and coral bleaching, focusing on coral reefs, mangroves, and wetlands. While the country has a strong policy framework and various donor-funded projects, it faces challenges in human capacity, data collection for monitoring, and the need to translate policies into formal legislation, such as a proposed Climate Change Act.

• The Seychelles is highly vulnerable to climate change, with observed impacts including coastal erosion, coastal flooding, extensive droughts, and repeated mass coral bleaching events. Projected threats include increases in sea levels, storm and tidal surges, and extreme sea-surface temperatures.
• Coral reefs have been prioritised as a primary candidate for ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) due to their extreme vulnerability, though interventions also target mangroves, sandy beaches, coastal plateaus, and freshwater wetlands.
• The Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change (MEECC) leads EbA policy and implementation, supported by a Project Coordination Unit (PCU) for donor-funded projects. Other key actors include the Department of Risk and Disaster Management and the Department of Blue Economy.
• The Seychelles has integrated climate change into several strategic documents, including the National Climate Change Strategy (2009) and the Sustainable Development Strategy (2012–2020). In its 2015 Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), the country pledged to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 21.4% by 2025 and 29.0% by 2030.
• The government aims to protect 50% of its land mass and designate 30% of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as protected areas by 2020 to reduce anthropogenic stressors and improve climate resilience.
• Practical EbA projects include coral reef restoration in Curieuse Marine National Park, mangrove and wetland rehabilitation at Anse Royale, and the use of a combination of EbA and hard engineering for coastal protection on La Digue.
• EbA funding is primarily provided by multilateral donors like the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the EU, and the Adaptation Fund, supplemented by local mechanisms such as the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust's Blue Grants Fund.
• A significant gap exists in human capacity for designing, implementing, and monitoring EbA. There is a lack of high-quality data to quantify the monetary and societal values of EbA compared to traditional engineering approaches.
• The report argues for the creation of a Climate Change Act to provide a strong legal footing for EbA, improve transparency in climate tracking and accounting, and legislate financial provisions for adaptation and mitigation.

APA

Bijoux, J. (2019). Marine and Coastal EbA for Enhanced Resilience in Southern Africa Country Review: Seychelles. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Special-Report-bijoux.pdf

Chicago

Bijoux, Jude. Marine and Coastal EbA for Enhanced Resilience in Southern Africa Country Review: Seychelles. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2019. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Special-Report-bijoux.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bijoux |first1=Jude |title=Marine and Coastal EbA for Enhanced Resilience in Southern Africa Country Review: Seychelles |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=August 2019 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Special-Report-bijoux.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bijoux2019marine, author = {Bijoux, Jude}, title = {{Marine and Coastal EbA for Enhanced Resilience in Southern Africa Country Review: Seychelles}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2019}, month = aug, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Special-Report-bijoux.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }