Welcome to SEARCA Knowledge Center on Climate Change Adaptation in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management in Southeast Asia (KC3)

Timor-Leste

Published on 13 May 2020
Timor-Leste—also known as East Timor–is one of the least developed countries in Southeast Asia.  It was the center of the world’s attention around the turn of the millennium when, having been occupied by its powerful neighbor Indonesia for almost a quarter of a century, its citizens overwhelming voted for independence through a UN organized referendum in 1999.  In 2002, Timor-Leste formally became the first independent…
Published on 30 May 2019
East Timor generates about 70 tonnes of plastic waste each day, most of which is collected from beaches and urban areas, then burned in the open In a region where seas are awash with trash, East Timor is set to become the world's first country to recycle all its plastic waste after it teamed up with Australian researchers on Friday to build a revolutionary recycling…
Published on 15 May 2018
A new World Bank report recommends increased budgets for operations and maintenance for Timor-Leste’s public water supply sector, as well as the establishment of a national policy framework, in order to achieve the country’s national and international commitments by 2030. The report, entitled Timor-Leste - Water Sector Assessment and Roadmap, identifies areas of support in order to reach the targets outlined in the country’s Strategic…
Published on 23 November 2017
Against the backdrop of a freak storm this month in Malaysia and typhoon in Vietnam, one is reminded of the effects of climate change and the contrasting El Niño which hit Timor-Leste in 2015-2016. The 2015/2016 El Niño cycle was one of the most severe recorded. For the Asia Pacific region, the extreme weather event brought prolonged drought conditions that affected some 4.7 million people…
Published on 13 November 2017
Financial assistance to construct the tanks was provided by the European Union as part of the EU-GIZ Adapting to Climate Change and Sustainable Energy (EU-GIZ ACSE) Programme. The IA4RA is being implemented by Hivos, a Netherlands-based international NGO, in partnership with the Timorese Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Olinda da Costa, 46-year old, is a busy mother of six. She operates a small kiosk which…
Published on 15 June 2017
I am proud to be the patron of an innovative community reforestation and environmental education program in the mountains of Timor-Leste, one of the world’s small developing nations, that is enabling subsistence farmers to generate income while taking action on climate change. The program, WithOneSeed, has four commitments: to address environmental degradation through community reforestation, to build village economies through payment to small landholder farmers…
Published on 8 February 2017
Congratulations Timor Leste!! January 24th, launching Intended Nationally Determined Contribution with H.E. Minister of Trade, Industry and Environment. This is an important step for Timor Leste  that demonstrates their  overall commitment towards the climate change agenda, and it also potentially offers the country opportunities to benefit from international climate funding (including possibly future EU funding from the GCCA+). It is also very important for TL…
Published on 14 November 2016
The Paris Agreement (PA) came into force on 4 November 2016, creating a history in multilateral diplomacy, as no other convention came into force so quickly. This reflects global political commitment and desire for a zero-carbon, climate-resilient future. Now we need to adopt procedures for operationalizing the new framework, institutions and processes established under the Agreement, starting from the COP22 at Marrakech…
Published on 19 October 2016
By November, farming families in Timor Leste tend to have eaten or sold all their produce. They’ve planted new crops with the rains, but they must wait until the next harvest is ready in March or April. Many of the country’s 1.2 million people are already chronically hungry. Timor Leste was ranked the second hungriest country in Asia by the International…
Published on 1 December 2015
Thousands of Timorese families rely on freshwater springs, which dwindle in the dry season (roughly July through October). But locals say this year is especially bad, and El Niño is expected to delay the rains further. What’s happening now is part of a pattern that scientists expect will continue with climate change: higher temperatures, dryer dry seasons, fluctuating rainfall and rising sea levels. This…
Published on 5 May 2015
By reducing surface waves with their raised roots and storing floodwaters in their wetlands and marshes, mangroves protect coastal Timorese communities against rising sea levels as well as storm surges, he explained. Mangroves also provide food, shelter, and livelihoods for the people living in these communities. In recent years, however, mangrove forests across Timor-Leste have dramatically declined. According to government statistics, the coverage of…