Red Cross joins in efforts to address risks of climate change

Red Cross joins in efforts to address risks of climate change - 25.02.2008
The Red Cross Society of Seychelles (RCSS) in collaboration with the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Change Centre (RCCC) organised a one-day session last week under the theme “Understanding and addressing the risks of climate change”.

The one-day session, held at the International Conference Centre, is the first in four steps of a Memorandum of Understanding, signed recently between the RCSS and the RCCC, ´Preparedness for climate change 2006-08´. The objective of the MOU is to strengthen the capacity of the national society to better understand and address the risks of climate change to the vulnerable people in the country and the implementation of its programs.

Speaking to Seychelles Nation after the course’s opening, the Disaster Management Coordinator for the RCSS, Andy Roucou, said that climate change poses the threat of exposing the world to various humanitarian crisis, and as an organizations which deals with such emergencies, it is imperative that actions to gain knowledge of the phenomenon are engaged sooner.

Citing as example, he said that if the water were to rise because of global warming, Red Cross and Red Crescent societies all over the world would be required to assist those affected by the happening, and so it is important to brainstorm in this respect, “in order to identify what is expected of us should such a tragedy struck”.

Among the facilitators of the workshop was the special adviser in the President’s Office, Dr Rolph Payet.