ALM UNDP

Component 1: Ecosystem-based adaptation approach to enhancing freshwater security in Mahé under conditions of climate change

• An ecosystem-based adaptation approach will be implemented in targeted watersheds on the island of Mahé to increase water security (reducing the climate change induced vulnerability of coastal communities to water scarcity during projected dry spells). The project will finance technology development and application to restore riparian areas, in watersheds in the Western side of the island, which are not currently utilised for the purposes of providing water to the city of Mahé. The project will engineer a paradigm shift from site based protected area management, primarily for biodiversity conservation to a landscape based management system, aimed at restoring ecosystem functionality and resilience with the specific purpose of enhancing water provisioning services during the extended dry season (this will be measured by the low flow measure). This is expected to have the added benefit of reducing flooding risk following climate changed induced intense heavy rainfall events.
• A Strategic Ecosystem Based Water Resource Adaptation Assessment will be carried out. Specific ecosystem-based adaptation measures will include restoring the natural processes of wetlands and assisting the natural rehabilitation of degraded areas. This includes: restoration of forest to enhance water-soil infiltration and water storage capacities in soils and aquifers (2,500 hectares), restoration of wetlands, through the removal of alien species and reduction in abstraction to enhance wetland functionality (550 hectares), integrated management of climate change induced wildfires to reduce the impact of fire disturbances on hydrological functions, small-scale artificial raw water facilities (barrages).

Component 2: Ecosystem-based adaptation approaches along the shorelines of the Granitic Islands reduce the risks of climate change induced coastal floods

• An ecosystem-based adaptation approach will be implemented on the shorelines of the four targeted Granitic islands aiming to reduce flood damage and shoreline avulsion in vulnerable areas arising from a combination of rising sea levels and storm surges, both climate change induced. A vulnerability assessment will be undertaken and maps produced to determine areas where additional protection and restoration activities will be needed, focusing on production lands outside protected areas. At selected sites, critical coastal ecosystems will be restored to reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities to climate changed induced coastal flooding and erosion. Interventions will increase the resilience of coupled social and ecological systems in the face of climatic variability and change.
• Activities will include: (i) mangrove reforestation, restoration and active management to reduce coastal erosion, (ii) rehabilitation of sand dunes to natural state through planting of local species in order to stabilize the dunes, (iii) restoration of wetlands, through the removal of alien species and areas reclaimed by agriculture in the past, (iv) coral reef (fringing) construction, rehabilitation, restoration and protection in order to reduce wave action and reduce coastal erosion.
• Coastal communities will play a critical role in implementing the restoration activities. Local community coordinating bodies will be created for each intervention site and training provided on the specific adaptation measure that will be adopted there.

Component 3: Ecosystem based adaptation mainstreamed into development planning and financing

• This component aims at increasing institutional capacity in Seychelles to adapt to climate change with policy support to plan for and respond/adapt to climate change-related risks and damage. An emphasis will be placed on upscaling the ecosystem based adaptation technology/ management measures applied under components 1 and 2 respectively through targeting the land/water use planning and regulation process, the Environmental Impact Assessment process and creating the legal and economic environment for such processes to be effective.
• This component will also have a strong knowledge management focus. The project will act as the knowledge window for the government and resource users regarding the ecosystem based adaptation approach, bringing in appropriate international experiences to Seychelles. Awareness raising activities targeting the decision makers and coastal communities will be an integral part of knowledge management.

As detailed in the Adaptation Fund Proposal - Seychelles.