Topics & Events

On December 23, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a Record of Discussions with the Government of Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste in Dili for the Project for Community-based Landscape Management for Enhanced Climate Resilience and Reduction of Deforestation in Critical Watersheds.

JICA has been cooperating with the government of Timor Leste regarding enhancing the capacity of local communities to improve their livelihood and conserving forests for 15 years, and as a result the Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) approach was developed. This promotes participatory natural resource management and provides more sustainable and climate-resilient livelihood options, putting the communities at the centre of practices.

This project aims at reducing forest degradation and deforestation through applying the CBNRM approach in 74 vulnerable upland communities (about 48,000 people) of four watersheds. The project is expected to reduce greenhouse gases (CO2eq) by 4.4m tonnes over 20 years and contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 13 and 15.

Details for the project are provided below

[Basic project information]
Country	Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
Project Title	Project for Community-based Landscape Management for Enhanced Climate Resilience and Reduction of Deforestation in Critical Watersheds
Planned implementation period	60 months
Executing agency	the National Directorate of Forest, Watershed and Mangrove Areas Management (NDFWMAM) under the General Director of Forest, Coffee and Industrial Plants (DGFCIP) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF)
Target region	Four priority watersheds (Laclo, Comoro, Tafara and Caraulun)
Specific project details	-Establishment of people driven sustainable Natural Resource Management (NRM) system -Reinforcement of livelihood diversification through implementation of trainings on sustainable and climate resilient livelihoods effective for reducing CO2 emissions -Institutional and capacity development for scale-up of CBNRM beyond the target region