EU supports Seychelles’ climate change strategy

EU supports Seychelles’ climate change strategy -

The European Union has disbursed €700,000 (approx. R12.5 million) of grant funds in

order to assist the Government of Seychelles in implementing the National Climate Change

Strategy.

This is the second disbursement under the three-year-long Climate Change Support

Programme (SCCSP) financed by the EU Global Climate Change Alliance.

This assistance comes in addition to the bilateral European Development Fund (EDF)

programme for Seychelles.

The approval for the disbursement of the second tranche of the grant was made against

the backdrop of significant steps undertaken by the government in 2011 in the

implementation of the National Climate Change Strategy.

The key achievements were mainstreaming of the Climate Change Strategy through

development and adoption of key sector strategies and action plans and formulation of

the Seychelles Energy Bill which is scheduled to be enacted this year.

Alessandro Mariani, head of delegation and ambassador, expressed his satisfaction with

Seychelles’ capacity to mainstream sustainable development in the economic reform

agenda.

“I also hope that the Seychelles government will continue to build the required momentum

to harness opportunities under the provisions of the new Energy Bill,” he added.

The objective of the programme is to support sustainable development policies and the

implementation of the priority areas of the Seychelles National Climate Change Strategy,

in a coordinated effort with other donors.

The disbursement is the fifth payment made through General Budget Support and brings the

total EU budget support disbursed close to €13.5 million.

General Budget Support is the main financing tool of cooperation between the EU and

Seychelles, since the Seychelles Economic Reform Programme (SERP) was signed in 2009.

The decision also confirms the progress made by the government of Seychelles towards

restoration of macro-economic stability and sustainable fiscal position as well as

improvement of the country's public financial management, as noted by IMF’s fifth review

of the Extended Fund Facility published on June 6, 2012.

Source Seychelles Nation

Stakeholders learn to use new tool to assess, monitor country’s vulnerabilities and resilience abilities

22-March-2017
Stakeholders from government, the private sector and NGOs are meeting for three days to understand and learn to use a new Vulnerability Resilience Country Profiling (VRC) policy tool to monitor and assess the country’s vulnerabilities and resilience abilities.

The training, organised by the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change in partnership with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) is taking place at the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay and it is being led by a local consultant, Dr Gerard Adonis, as well as an associate expert in sustainable development from UNDESA, Sae Kajima.
http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=253372

Schools get ready to deal with natural catastrophes

What do we do if during school hours we have a tsunami, flooding or any other natural catastrophe? A question that not only requires thought but also thorough preparation. In order to be better... Read More
http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=253404

UN Climate Change Conference (COP23) in Bonn, Germany (November 6-17)

07-November-2017

‘Seychelles’ youth have so many opportunities to become great and to do great things’

Stephanie Stacy NairStephanie Stacy Nair is a young Seychellois working with the James Michel Foundations as a social media manager. She is part of the Seychelles youth delegation attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23) which is taking place in Bonn, Germany.
Stacy Nair is the only daughter in her family and she is a mother to an energetic four-year-old boy.
“Being a mother has taught me a lot of qualities which I now apply to my daily life,” says Stacy proudly. She describes herself as an open-minded person with a strong personality and a good sense of humour to accompany it.
“After all laughter is the best medicine,” says Stacy, who also enjoys swimming and yoga.
Stacy says she is immensely fascinated by current global issues and have a special interest in climate change and the Blue economy.
“The James Michel Foundation has a strong vision to sensitise people about the Blue economy, climate change and its impacts on Seychelles and the world,” says Stacy.
The Foundation promotes environmental protection, encourages sustainable development, and it also promotes, advocates for and raises awareness on the cause of small island developing states.
“This reflects my passion and interests,” she says.
For Stacy climate change is indeed a real threat and she believes that everyone must act now to preserve the future.
Stacy says her participation in COP23 will enable her to witness sophisticated policy making processes and international negotiations firsthand.
“It will also provide me with the opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences, build new networks and develop creative ideas to fight climate change,” Stacy said in an interview before she left for Germany.
The following are excerpts from the interview:

Q: How did you get the opportunity to attend the climate change conference?
A: It was only a few months ago when I started posting about all the different competitions that an international organisation call ‘Climate Tracker’ was organising and through these contests young people could enroll and get a chance to win a trip to Germany to attend COP23...but little did I know that I would be attending as well.
But then I read about the Commonwealth Climate Change Advocacy and Diplomacy Training that was to be held in Seychelles, in collaboration with Climate Tracker…and I immediately applied for it. It was an amazing experience. It was during this training that we were informed that the initiative was also a preparation for the actual COP23 and that there maybe will be a chance for Seychellois youth to attend. This is how it all started.
(By participating in this one week training programme Stacy became eligible to later apply to attend COP23).

Q: What do you hope to achieve at COP23?
A: As youth we are going to help shine a light on the problems we face in Seychelles and share our experiences as small island developing states. By adding our voices to the debate, we will put pressure on the advanced countries of the Paris Agreement to increase their actions to slow down climate change in vulnerable societies, like ours.
This meeting (COP23) is so important that I feel citizens of Seychelles should be part of the process even though they are not physically there, so the next best thing is to document it on social media.
The event will be hectic but I will do my utmost to involve everyone in the journey to COP23. On this note I invite everyone to please like the Facebook page ‘Seychelles Eco-Warriors Abroad’ (run by SYAH –Seychelles). This is where all of the youth climate advocates will be posting”.
(Stacy hopes that after her participation in COP23, she will come back to Seychelles with brand new ideas and with more motivation and inspiration to actively raise more awareness on climate change and its effects and the threat that it poses for Seychelles. She also plans to raise a lot of awareness through social media).

Q: Any last word?
A: I remember former President James Michel once said that ‘Beyond the horizon there are infinite possibilities’. Therefore, the youth of Seychelles should not limit themselves as they have so many opportunities to become great and to do great things. They need to play their part and get more involved in the fight against climate change. We are not the youth of tomorrow or the future we are the youth of today. On this note I would also like to extend my gratitude to the James Michel Foundation for believing in me and for supporting my trip to COP23.

Compiled by S. M. Barbé

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=256421