Seychelles: Seychellois Say Climate Change Is Making Life Worse, Call On Government and Rich Countries to Act

18 May 2026
Afrobarometer (Accra)
By Eric Otu Beecham and Daniel Iberi

Majority say developed countries are to blame and should help Seychelles confront the climate crisis.

Key findings

  • Roughly two in 10 Seychellois say that drought (24%), flooding (21%), and crop failure (19%) have become "somewhat more severe" or "much more severe" in their area over the past 10 years, while majorities say their severity has lessened or remained unchanged.
  • Many Seychellois report having to adjust their lives in response to changing weather patterns, including reducing or rescheduling outdoor work (25%), using less water or changing water sources (25%), changing the types of crops they plant or the foods they eat (11%), reducing their livestock holdings or changing grazing patterns (7% of those who own livestock), and moving to a different place (4%).
  • Citizens experiencing moderate or high lived poverty are more likely than their better-off counterparts to report adjusting their water use, outdoor work patterns, and livestock practices.
  • An overwhelming majority (91%) of Seychellois say they have heard of climate change. Among those who are aware of climate change:
  • More than three-fourths (77%) say it is making life in Seychelles worse, up from 54% in 2022.
  • More than half (55%) identify human activity as the main cause of climate change; a further 26% blame a combination of human activity and natural processes.
  • About two-thirds (65%) say it is important for the Seychelles government to take urgent action to limit climate change, even if it is expensive or causes some job losses.
  • Even larger majorities say wealthy countries should take immediate steps to limit climate change (84%) and should provide climate aid to Seychelles (84%). In fact, six in 10 Seychellois (62%) see wealthy countries as bearing primary responsibility for fighting climate change.
  • Among all respondents, large majorities express support for possible policy responses to changes in weather patterns, including investing in climate-resilient infrastructure (79%), pressuring rich countries to provide climate aid (78%), and investing in renewable technologies such as wind and solar power (75%).

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Seychelles, a low-lying small island state in the western Indian Ocean, is highly exposed to climate-change shocks, including rising sea levels, flooding, and water scarcity (World Bank Group, 2025). About 80% of the country's most important infrastructure, including ports, airports, and road networks, is concentrated at sea level and could be rendered inoperable if it floods (EcoHubMap, 2025; International Monetary Fund, 2017). The ocean and coastal environments are also at significant risk from rising temperatures, which could affect coral reefs and fisheries (International Monetary Fund, 2017).

The Seychelles government has rolled out a broad spectrum of measures to mitigate climate change. The Seychelles Marine Spatial Plan Initiative (2014) aims to protect marine life, provide a framework for climate adaptation, and support the blue economy. In 2015, a partnership with the Nature Conservancy established the Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust, releasing about U.S. $21.6 million through a debt-for-nature swap to fund nature-based solutions to climate change (United Nations, n.d.; Nature Conservancy, 2020). In 2018, in collaboration with the World Bank, Seychelles became the first country to launch a sovereign blue bond, a financing model aimed at raising resources to protect marine life and promote ocean conservation (March, Evans, Laing, & Raguain, 2024). In 2021, the government pledged to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 26.4% by 2030 under its revised Nationally Determined Contributions (Republic of Seychelles, 2021).

Despite the country's middle-tier ranking in vulnerability and readiness on the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative Index (ND-GAIN, 2025), analysts say gaps persist between national-level climate-change mitigation policies and their implementation across various economic sectors (especially fisheries and tourism), exposing a lack of a cohesive whole-of-economy framework (Bonjean Stanton & Downing, 2014; Etongo, 2022).

A special question module in Afrobarometer's Round 10 survey (2025) explores Seychelles citizens' experiences, awareness, and attitudes related to climate change. Findings show that nine in 10 Seychellois have heard of climate change, and most say it is making life worse. In significant numbers, citizens - especially the economically disadvantaged - are making adjustments to their daily lives in response to changes in weather patterns.

A majority of citizens who have heard of climate change call for climate action by their government, but even more say wealthy countries should lead the fight and provide climate aid to Seychelles.

Eric Otu Beecham Eric Otu Beecham is a monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) officer at Afrobarometer.

Daniel Iberi Communications coordinator for East Africa

Read the original article on Afrobarometer.

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