Ecosystem Based Adaptation to Climate Change in Seychelles - EBA project

The GOS-UNDP-GEF Programme Coordination Unit in Seychelles is implementing an Adaptation Fund project ''Ecosystem based adaptation to climate change in Seychelles. The projects seeks to reduce the vulnerability of the Seychelles to climate change focusing on two (2) key issues- water scarcity and flooding. The climate change projections in the Seychelles show that rainfall, while increasing in ove

rall terms, will become even more irregular. Much of the precipitation is falling in sharp bursts, creating heavy flooding in the wet season, while imposing extended period of drought during the dry season. As we do not have a large water storage capacity, and the topography of the islands constrains such infrastructure, water supplies are heavily dependent on rainfall. Furthermore, the coastal zone is vulnerable to flooding as a consequence of rising sea surface levels, and increase storm surges from cyclonic activity in the western Indian Ocean. The EBA project will reduce these vulnerabilities by spearheading ecosystem based adaptation as climate change risk and management- restoring ecosystem functionality, and enhancing ecosystem resilience and sustaining watershed and coastal processes in order to secure critical water provisioning and flood attenuation ecosystem services from watersheds and coastal areas.