Beau Vallon, Seychelles, 18th August 2026 - The Republic of Seychelles held its national launch of the RESIslands Project, a multi-country climate resilience initiative delivered across nine African island states. The launch brought together government officials, regional partners, technical institutions, civil society and international delegates.
The RESIslands Project is a readiness project financed by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and implemented by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in partnership with the African Island States Climate Commission (AISCC). The project strengthens institutional frameworks, improves early warning systems, standardises risk data and supports the development of climate finance pipelines across nine African island states.
Seychelles chairs the AISCC, the body that championed and submitted the RESIslands Project to the Green Climate Fund, placing the country at the forefront of both the project's implementation and the wider regional effort to elevate the priorities of Africa's island states within continental climate and disaster risk discourse.
Speaking at the launch, the Minister for Environment, Climate, Energy and Natural Resources, Hon. Marie-May Jeremie, underscored the urgency of the project for Seychelles and its island neighbours. “Climate change is not a distant policy debate for us, it is our daily reality,” said Minister Jeremie. “Through RESIslands, we are not simply receiving support; we are taking ownership of our resilience, together with our partners and every stakeholder in this room.”
The Minister further emphasised that although the African Island States are geographically separated from the continental mainland, their needs remain central to Africa's broader climate and disaster risk agenda, and that Seychelles, as AISCC Chair, would continue to advocate for this position in continental forums.
The launch ceremony included remarks from the UN Resident Coordinator's Office, along with representatives of ECA, and the Green Climate Fund, who reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Seychelles and the wider AISCC membership through the project's implementation phase. GCF representative Joseph Intsiful said the Fund “remains committed to supporting Seychelles and other island states in transforming climate ambition into tangible action.” The event culminated in a luncheon among the stakeholders, where the conversations continued.
Key Highlights
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Funding & Partners: Green Climate Fund grant, implemented by ECA in partnership with the African Island States Climate Commission.
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Multi-Country Rollout: Seychelles' launch is the second of nine planned national launches under the RESIslands Project, following Equatorial Guinea, with the next national launch to follow soon.
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Regional Reach: Supports climate resilience across nine African island states, Cabo Verde, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles and Tanzania (including Zanzibar).
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Seychelles Leadership: As AISCC President, Seychelles championed and submitted the project to the Green Climate Fund.
Expected Outcomes
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Institutional Coherence: Aligning national policy and coordination between disaster risk management and climate change adaptation frameworks.
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Better Risk Information: Enhancing multi-hazard risk assessment, maritime data collection and cross-agency information sharing, including through the Disaster Risk Information Management System (DRIMS) currently under development.
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Finance-Ready Pipelines: Developing strategies and projects to unlock international climate finance.
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Sustained Capacity: Strengthening technical expertise through partnerships with the University of Twente and ECA experts.
The RESIslands Project builds on Seychelles' existing climate leadership, including its Climate Resource Mobilisation Strategy. The Ministry noted that the project's success will depend on active collaboration across central government agencies, technical and meteorological institutions, local government bodies and civil society organisations.
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org