Sea level rise: Seychelles identifies locations for urgent coastal protection 

A cocoon of rock armouring to stop sand migration at the Anse Kerlan beach on Praslin. (Romano Laurence)

Authorities in Seychelles have identified four locations as priority areas for the coastal infrastructure development project, a top official said on Monday.

The chosen areas are the eastern Mahe district of Au Cap, North East Point and Beau Vallon in the north of Mahe, and Anse La Blague on Praslin.

The Minister for Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment, Flavien Joubert, said, "The Seychelles Meteorological Authority has confirmed that the sea level in Seychelles is increasing by about 3mm (millimetres) every year which is faster than previously estimated, therefore it is necessary to find ways to protect the country's coastal infrastructure."

He added that a list of priority areas has been compiled with over 30 locations identified as urgent.

Joubert said that given the financial cost, the different projects needed to mitigate the effects of coastal erosion and sea level rise will be implemented by phase and that  "Seychelles cannot cope with these challenges on its own, we have to look for additional support from outside."

He said that there are several funds Seychelles will apply for funding such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Adaptation Fund and Loss and Damage Fund among others.

The minister said the government intends to set up mechanisms to help people with climate mitigation in the future and other measures will be implemented in the long term to facilitate the private sector.

The panel of ministers and chief executives at the press conference. (Seychelles Nation) Photo License: CC-BY

The Minister for Transport, Antony Derjacques, described this issue as a crisis and not just a national problem.

He said many infrastructure such as roads and pavements are already being damaged by coastal erosion in several areas of the country, notably Anse La Blague on Praslin, which he described as being in a critical situation.

"If you live in the south, (Mahe) you will see how the sea reaches the road, especially during high tides. At North East Point, there is a lot of sand that ends up on the road because of the tide. At Anse La Blague, if we are not careful and if we do not raise the level of the road, it will be affected and even may cut off access to the other side for the residents who live there," said Derjacques.

"All relevant agencies are working together to tackle these challenges, either locally or internationally, especially with other Small Island Developing States (SIDS) that may be facing the same challenges. A common approach is important," he added.

The principal secretary for Climate Change, Tony Imaduwa,  added that in the meantime, given the limited number of financial resources available for the country, "the different projects identified have to be grouped according to their similarities, to maximise what resources we have. We have to do more in-depth studies to understand what could happen in the long term."

The chief executive of the Seychelles Land Transport Authority, Parinda Herath, clarified that the list with 30 projects is not a final one as more will be added to it in the future depending on how the situation develops.

"Our technicians from different agencies are already working on the project details including the cost estimates. The Ministry of Finance has given us a positive indication that there will be some financing to be able to at least implement some of the projects in the meantime," said Herath.

"Another major challenge is that sometimes the damage to the road is not necessarily visible at first, erosion happens below and suddenly you find a sinkhole and emergency repairs have to be done immediately. In some places, we had to install rock armouring," he added.

Highlighting the importance of working together and using the resources well, the chief executive of the Seychelles Infrastructure Agency, Jitesh Shah, said that this should be a collective effort.

"We are also helping the Local Government with certain community drainage projects, which are also important. All drainage works together, it starts from the mountain and down to the sea. We need to ensure that whatever solution is implemented in one place does not affect an area further away," said Shah.