- Title
- Climate risk management in Timor Leste
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- Abstract
- "Timor-Leste lies in the Lesser Sunda Islands at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago with an area of 15,007 square km of rough mountainous terrain with a narrow strip of coastal plains. Timor-Leste is the youngest and – in spite of the recent fossil fuel discoveries – one of the poorest countries in the world, with more than 50 per cent of its one million population living in poverty.
Some 40 per cent of the country is mountainous with slopes steeper than 40 per cent. Heavy rains in these areas during monsoon period (November to April) cause ash oods and landslides, which, along with droughts, are considered the main natural hazards in the country. Timor-Leste is also vulnerable to tropical cyclones and storms that could cause coastal ooding and wave damage. Climate change could aggravate severity and intensity of these hazards posing serious threat to the national development process.
Climate-related risks already exist while new forms of risks related to climate change are emerging. Risks a ect sectors as wide as socio- economic, socio-environmental and eco-environmental by deterring investment and innovation at the livelihood level. Of the total one million population 80 per cent are rural and depend on subsistence agriculture for their livelihood. Climate shocks such as drought associated with El Nino and oods and landslides with La Nina, are aggravating food insecurity and malnutrition.
Climate risk management is still in a nascent stage in Timor Leste. There is a signi cant need to integrate the three main frameworks that contribute to the climate risk management process in the country- development, disaster risk management and climate change adaptation. However, the Government lacks the institutional capacities and policy mechanisms to assess, prioritize and reduce climate risks in a systematic manner. Currently, Timor-Leste has resources from Petroleum Fund, and development partners that can be utilized for climate risk management interventions.
It is important to pay close attention to climate risks and reduce exposure of development assets added each year in the country and investments into agricultural sector. CRM TASP assessment revealed that a minimum investment in climate risk management could maximize gains in the form of protecting agriculture and infrastructure investments from recurring climate risks. It also underscored the need to develop institutional and capacity mechanisms to integrate climate riks management into all climate sensitive sectors through needs assessments and enhancing information sharing and partnerships among government ministries."
- Publication Date
- Sept. 1, 2013, 5 p.m.
- Category
- Climatology Meteorology Atmosphere
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processes and phenomena of the atmosphere. Examples: cloud cover, weather, climate, atmospheric conditions, climate change, precipitation
- Regions
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Timor-Leste
- Responsible
- andy
- More info
- -
- Language
- English
- Supplemental Information
- coastal_flood, strong_wind, drought, urban_flood, extreme_heat, wildfire, landslide
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