The residents of two Timor-Leste communities, Batugade and Atauro, will soon be able to prepare their respective communities for the potential impacts of climate change on their own. This is in line with the goals of the Coral Triangle Initiative's Regional Plan of Action.
Through support from the Australian Government, the WorldFish Center is helping Timor-Leste coastal communities learn to assess how vulnerable their communities are to climate change. Through this funding support, WorldFish is also helping the people of Batugade and Atauro develop the necessary plans to assist their communities adapt to climate pressures.
The project is designed to to help improve climate adaptation programs in Timor-Leste by identifying coastal communities and ecosystems vulnerable to climate change, and making climate-adaptation efforts and funding more strategic and targeted.
WorldFish will work closely with stakeholders in the communities of Batugade and Atauro to achieve this goal through:
• the mapping of areas vulnerable to the effects of climate change
• the collection of baseline data that will help measure the future effects of climate change
• community engagement and consultation
Fundamental data collection, capacity development and networking will provide a baseline for comparison with future climate change, and a platform for planning and responding to these changes. It will also highlight areas that require targeted investment in adaptation measures. This support will benefit local livelihoods, food security and poverty reduction in the short and long term.
A review of published information on the coastal resource management and livelihood situation in Timor-Leste was recently completed. Information relating to existing law and strategy, past and present projects and livelihoods, coastal and environmental governance and climate change in Timor-Leste were studied and will provide a basis for subsequent facets of the project, including the next activity and vulnerability mapping, due to be completed by mid 2012.