Outline of the Project

Project Name

The Project for Community-Based Landscape Management for Enhanced Climate Resilience and Reduction of Deforestation in Critical Watersheds

Subject

Natural Environment Conservation

Country

Timor-Leste

Date R/D Signed

23 December 2021

Project Site

74 villages in four (4) critical watersheds

Term of Cooperation

from 12 April 2022 to 11 April 2027 (Five years)

Implementing Organization

Directorate General of Forest, Coffee and Industrial Plants (DGFCIP) in Ministry of Agriculture and Fishery (MAF)

Background

Deforestation and forest degradation in Timor-Leste has continued since 1975. The nationwide forest survey conducted in 2012 by JICA's grant aid has revealed that 184,000 ha was deforested during 10 years from 2003 till 2012 and 171,000 ha of dense forest was converted to sparse forest or agricultural land in the same period.

The main drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in Timor-Leste are (i) shifting cultivation and unplanned conversion of forests to agricultural land, (ii) overexploitation of fuelwood, (iii) extensive free grazing, and (iv) forest fires caused by human activities mentioned from (i) to (iii). Therefore, to reduce deforestation and forest degradation, it is critical for the community people to change their traditional uses of land, natural resources, and farming practices.

To address the situation, JICA conducted a diagnostic survey in Comoro and Laclo river basins during 2005 and 2010 to assess the natural resources and people's livelihoods. Based on the findings in the survey, JICA developed the watershed management guideline and proposed an approach to enhance natural resource management by the rural community called "Community-Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM)".

CBNRM is a mechanism to enhance natural resource management conducted by the rural community by introducing traditional customs to inform prohibited acts called "Tara Bandu" in the enforcement of village regulations for sustainable natural resource management. Livelihood improvement activities are also included as a part of the mechanism, which encourages people to change their perception and behaviour in natural resource uses for the better and contribute to reducing poverty in the community.

The following JICA technical assistance (TA) from 2010 till 2015 (Phase 1) conducted pilot projects to test CBNRM mechanism in the target villages in Comoro and Laclo watersheds and completed the mechanism based on the lessons learned in the pilots. Phase 2 of JICA TA on CBNRM (2016-2022) continued conducting the pilots of the upgraded CBNRM in more target villages, not only building the capacity of the government stakeholders but also supporting institutional development by providing the drafts of CBNRM road map, ministerial order, technical guidelines, etc. for scaling up the CBNRM mechanism in other watersheds in the future.

During JICA TA Phase 2, the Funding Proposal which aimed to obtain the financial source of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for CBNRM expansion was prepared and submitted to GCF. After it was approved by the board committee of GCF in February 2021, it opened the way to start in 2022 of the 1st Project co-financed by JICA and GCF with the contributions from the government of Timor-Leste on CBNRM expansion in 74 target villages in four critical watersheds, Comoro, Laclo, Caraulun and Tafara (JICA-GCF Project).

JICA will implement the Project providing the technical assistance in enhancing the capacity of the government stakeholders, supporting institutional development for CBNRM, and introducing carbon offset plantation and community forestry. JICA also manages the CBNRM implementation in the target villages as the Accredited Entity (AE) and the Executing Entity (EE) of GCF.

The Overall Goal

The Community-based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) mechanism with Community Forestry (CF) is extended in more than half of the priority watersheds in collaboration and coordination with relevant stakeholders.

Project Purpose

Institutional and individual capacities of vulnerable upland communities in the project sites and relevant government and non-governmetn organizations for reducing forest degradation and deforestation are enhanced through the application of the CBNRM mechanism.

Output

1.1	Improved management and protection of existing forests through introduction of PLUP and community-based NRM monitoring
1.2	Enhanced governance capacity of local leaders at village and post-administrative levels for sustainable forest and natural resource management
2.1	Enhanced food security and livelihood diversification of vulnerable living in hills and mountains in the target watersheds through implementation of micro programs/ FFSs on sustainable and climate resilient livelihoods
2.2	Development and demonstration of model cases of incentive mechanism based on the carbon offsetting scheme in selected villages
2.3	Rehabilitated degraded forests and lands through reforestation and sustainable forest management with introduction of CF
2.4	Enhanced capacity of MAF field officials for provision of hands-on training and coaching on relevant sustainable and climate resilient livelihoods
3.1	Strengthened institutional and regulatory systems for implementation of the CBNRM and CF approaches in other watersheds
3.2	Enhanced MAF technical officials' capacity for implementation of the CBNRM and CF approaches, particularly PLUP, CCVA, enhancement of local governance capacity, CF, and climate change adaptation measures
3.3	Institutionalization of the watershed management councils and community-based adaptation plans (CBAPs) as part of the formal institutional set-ups at municipal/post-administrative and village levels
3.4	Facilitation of scale-up of the CBNRM and CF approaches in other watersheds
4.1	Enhanced probability of achievement of the other project outputs through improvement of the project approaches, structures, and systems by i) evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed project, ii) assessing the project impacts, and iii) drawing lessons from the project implementation
4.2	Development of tools for assessment of project impacts of similar types of project

Project Activities

1.1.1	Participatory land use planning (PLUP) with climate change vulnerability assessment (CCVA)
1.2.1	Enhancement of local governance capacity for sustainable NRM with village level regulations
1.2.2	Formation and operation of watershed management councils as coordination platforms at post-administrative/sub-watershed level
2.1.1	Implementation of micro programs/ FFSs on productive, sustainable and climate resilient livelihoods (e.g., climate resilient agriculture, horticulture/ agroforestry, CB nurseries and reforestation, coffee rehabilitation, alternative income generation)
2.2.1	Introduction and development of small-scale carbon offset projects and promotion of private investment
2.3.1	Implementation and promotion of community forestry (CF) in the selected areas in the watersheds
2.4.1	Capacity enhancement of MAF field officers (Extension officers, Forest Guards, and Municipal technical officers) concerned with the target watersheds
3.1.1	Development of new government legislative and technical documents for effective implementation and promotion of the project activities in and beyond the target watersheds
3.2.1	Building of capacity of MAF and NGO field officers working in other priority watersheds
3.3.1	Institutionalization of the project outputs (sub-watershed/ post-administrative level platforms and CBAPs) as the government frameworks
3.4.1	Knowledge sharing with relevant stakeholders (e.g., key government officials, decision makers and legislators in the GoTL) through international seminars/ conferences
4.1.1	Establishment of baseline conditions for impact assessment
4.1.2	Evaluation of the project impacts with established methodologies for impact assessment
4.2.1	Development of technical references for impact assessment in similar projects in future

Inputs
[Japanese side]

• Experts: Project management, CBNRM Policy and Institutional Development, CBNRM Mechanism, Gender/Training Plan , Remote Sensing/GIS, Carbon Offsetting, Community Forestry (GCF budget), Procurement and Financial Maangement(GCF budget)
• Training in Japan
• Equipment
• Other project local costs

Inputs
[Government of Timor-Leste side]

• Counterpart personnel
• Office space and equipment
• Project operation cost