Staff followed Community-Based Cost Benefit Analysis (CBCBA) for Local Projects in Seychelles
Friday, August 30th, 2019, 8:30am-4pm ,
Climate change is about abnormal variations to the climate, and the effects of these variations on other parts of the Earth. It is a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.
Like the rest of the world, Seychelles faces a major threat from climate change – sea level rise, coastal erosion, changing rainfall patterns, flooding, and coral bleaching – these climate impacts are all expected to effect the main economic sectors, tourism and fisheries as well as to threaten key human needs like food and water security. The need for climate action in the country is clear, and some promising activities have been trialed or are underway, led by government, businesses and civil society organizations. Yet much more needs to be done across a range of sectors, including action at community level.
A group of staff followed a Community-Based Cost Benefit Analysis (CBCBA) workshop - as a tool for project design and selection. The workshop took place at The Guy Morel Institute (TGMI) on Friday 30th August, 2019. CBCBCBA is a tool that compares the anticipated costs and benefits of an investment, but in a way that takes on board both social and environmental considerations. Its outputs include both quantitative estimates and qualitative evidence to set numeric estimates in context. Conducting a full CBCBA requires significant time and resources, which could render this process unfeasible for many local officials and other stakeholders.
District Administrators were in majority attending the workshop seek to foster sustainable, inclusive development in their districts, as do many local businesses and citizens. Climate change strongly impacts the efforts of these various actors, threatening their success but also potentially creating new opportunities. A key question is therefore how to identify and design local projects and investments that are viable and effective despite the growing significance of climate change impacts. In other words, one critical consideration is distinguishing projects that are ‘climate smart’ instead of ‘climate blind’.
The workshop was offered by the GCCA+ Project in Seychelles, with support from the Department of Local Government, the TGMI and the EU. The workshop’s objectives were:
Build the capacity of participants to develop climate smart projects at community level that contribute to the achievement of national climate change objectives.
- Build the capacity of TGMI lecturers to incorporate CBCBA into their teaching
- Familiarize participants with a rapid version of the Community Based Cost Benefit Analysis (CBCBA) methodology as a tool to assess project impacts, inform project design, and choose from among project options
- Explore opportunities to apply this methodology to participants’ work
The workshop was facilitated by Jules Siedenburg: Consultant, Seychelles Global Climate Change Alliance+ (GCCA+) Project and Peter Estico: Senior Project Officer, Environment and Emergency Section, Department of Local Government.
