Using customary law for fisheries and marine ecosystem restoration in Timor-Leste

© Blue Ventures Timor Leste

From 26th to 28th November 2024, five student enumerators from UNITAL's Department of Fisheries Technology, and Marine Sciences and the Blue Ventures Timor Leste team conducted a social survey with 31 households in Arlo, Beloi Village, Administrative Authority of Atauro. Prior to this, the students received intensive training from the Blue Ventures Timor Leste team to prepare them for their roles as enumerators.

The objectives of a social survey typically focus on gathering information to understand various aspects of society, behaviors, opinions, or conditions within a specific population.

The objectives of this social survey are to:

• To collect demographic information (age, gender, education, income, etc.) to understand how different groups experience or are affected by social conditions, and to track demographic changes over time.
• To compare different groups, regions, or time periods to highlight variations and similarities in social behavior, conditions, or attitudes.
• To assess the effectiveness of existing services or programs and identify gaps where improvements or additional services may be necessary.

© Kiwa Initiative - Blue Ventures Timor Leste - February 2025

Empowering local communities to adapt more effectively to climate change is key to building resilience. In Timor-Leste, Blue Ventures, in partnership with Konservasaun Flora no Fauna and coastal communities, is working to protect and monitor marine habitats and fisheries. The goal: enhance food security and reduce the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss.

As part of this approach, from February 17–18, 2025, the Financial Inclusion team at @Blue Ventures Timor Leste conducted training on Savings and Loans for the coastal communities of We Ian-En, Behedan, and Sukaer Laran Village.
This training resulted in the creation of #VSLA (Village Savings and Loan Association) groups, empowering communities to manage their own financial tools.

Objectives of the training:

• Equip communities with the knowledge and skills to form and lead VSLA groups.
• Capacitate participants on the fundamental principles of saving and lending within a group structure.
• Facilitate training on VSLA modules and group management.
• Guide participants in drafting and signing a group constitution, establishing a governance structure, and setting operational rules.
• Provide insights into the benefits and challenges of VSLA groups.

The successful establishment of a VSLA group in We Ian-En, Behedan, gathered 10 members and an initial capital of $200.
We also acknowledge the strong commitment of Sukaer Laran and Moris Foun Hera, where groups of 9 members each were created, with $90 in starting capital.

These groups are powerful tools to promote financial autonomy, facilitate access to microloans, and improve household income.

© Kiwa Initiative

On December 16, 2024, the community of Hera in Timor Leste, supported by Blue Ventures, proudly launched the Tara Bandu-Sentru Beraka Locally Managed Marine Area #LMMA.

This initiative represents a significant step towards the sustainable management of marine resources, vital for the well-being of local communities, while strengthening their capacity to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Beraka (1.14 km²) and Sartutu (14.10 km²) are now protected, with a focus on:

• Seagrass meadows: 247.68 hectares conserved, essential for marine biodiversity.
• Mangroves: 52 hectares preserved, providing critical protection against coastal erosion.

In 2024, Blue Venture worked closely with local communities to establish four additional marine protected areas : Lian Lidu, Ilicnamo, Behedan, and Hera, safeguarding a collective total of 18.9 km².

This inspiring achievement highlights the importance of collaboration among local communities and their leaders, underscoring the role of traditional practices such as #Tara #Bandu. This social code fosters collective and responsible management of natural resources, strengthening both sustainability and community unity.

© Alex Bartlett, Ryan Lewis, Nick Poole @ Kiwa Inititiative

 Blue Ventures Timor-Leste, together with Konservasaun Flora no Fauna, have been collecting significant hours of seagrass data in Hera and Atauro using the Remote Underwater Video (RUV) and the Seagrass Watch method with the help from Project Seagrass.

The results will be shared with the communities once the data analysis and interpretation are completed.

© Kiwa Initiative

Over three days, fishers, members of tara bandu – LMMA, community representatives and local authorities shared their experiences, discussed challenges and solutions to strengthen marine resource management.

Participants also explored the results of nine months of Tara Bandu – LMMA implementation in the field, observed marine biodiversity during a dive at Lian-Lidu, and took part in a mangrove planting activity in Hera.

This exchange highlighted the importance of community engagement for sustainable ocean conservation.

© Mariano Gonçalves and Blue Venture

In the framework of their Kiwa local project in Timor-Leste, Blue Ventures organized and facilitated a 3-day Locally Managed Marine Areas #LMMA Knowledge Exchange in #Atauro for fishing communities from Hera, Ilimanu and Atauro Islands.

What were the objectives of this event?
- To facilitate communities from Hera and Ilimanu to learn from the LMMA groups of Atauro;
- To create an informal LMMA network;
- To facilitate communities from Hera and Ilimanu to see the result of LMMAs in Atauro, including #ecological and #economic #impacts (marine biodiversity, tourism, livelihoods)

The meetings focused on the history, experiences, and challenges of the Tara Bandu groups of Atauro who have successfully implemented the #traditional #custom in their marine areas. They shared lessons learned with the communities of Hera and Ilimanu, in order to find inspirations to tackle the issue of food security, with a declining number of fishes, in order to improve their livelihoods.

The major partners of this event were local partner Konservasaun Flora no Fauna, Representative from the Ministry of Fisheries, Representative from Secretary of State for the Environment, Fishers from Hera, Fishers from Behau, Tara Bandu Structure of Atauro. Tara Bandu groups, local leaders, and the local communities of Atauro.

Learn more about this Kiwa project: https://urlz.fr/mJKh

© Facebook Page Blue Venture Timor-Leste

As the LMMA Consultation journey kicked off in Ilimano last year, the communities stressed the importance of incorporating an octopus closure due to the significant number of gleaners in the area.
Currently, BV is facilitating fishers, gleaners, and local communities to delve into this ingenious concept set to unfold in Behedan. The community is happy to collaborate on this consultation process.

© Kiwa Initiative

Birgit Hermann, country director of Blue Ventures in Timor-Leste, is proud to celebrate the start of a new partnership with Konservasaun Flora no Fauna (KFF)!

The purpose of this collaboration is to reinforce the sustainable management of fisheries and the whole ecosystem (coral reefs, seagrass and mangrove habitats), the improvement of food security, the community resilience to climate shocks, and people’s ability to adapt.

With the Kiwa Initiative’s funding, 10 communities in Timor-Leste will be able to strengthen their resilience to the effects of climate change by better protecting ecosystems, managing fisheries, and diversifying livelihoods. 

"As an organisation, we’re working to create a world where small-scale fishers have bigger catches, better livelihoods and improved food security, and where healthy oceans teem with life for generations to come. I believe that customary practices and nature-based solutions benefitting people and nature alike are the key to making this vision a reality. As we move forwards with our pacific island neighbours I have a renewed sense of purpose that great things can come from locally led initiatives connected at scale, " states Birgit.

© Blue Venture

The Kiwa Initiative® is proud to announce that the project "Using customary law for fisheries and marine ecosystem restoration in Timor-Leste" engaged concrete actions to improve the resilience of communities and ecosystems on World Mangrove Day.

Schoolchildren, local communities, and stakeholders took part of a seedling planting activity in order to reforest the mangrove forest of Hera. This day was organized by Konservasaun FLORA & FAUNA and Blue Ventures Timor-Leste.

© Blue Ventures and Konservasaun Flora no Fauna

Blue Ventures and local conservation NGO, Konservasaun Flora no Fauna (KFF) presented the project to the Secretary of State for the Environment in Dili. Attendees included the Director General, Mr. João Soares, National Director of Biodiversity, Mr. Rui Pires, National Director of Pollution Control, Mr. Nelson Madeira, representatives from National Designated Authority, representative from Carbon Farming Programme as well as the Regional Director Asia-Pacific of Blue Ventures, Steve Box.

“We are supportive of Blue Ventures and KFF’s new partnership in this project. This marks a new era of cooperation between Blue Ventures and the Secretary of State for the Environment”, said Mr. João Soares, the Director General of Secretary of State for the Environment.

The project aims at elevating communities to establish and monitor a locally managed marine area (LMMA) including coral reef and seagrass habitats, and implement ecologically sustainable fishing measures within the respective habitats.

The partnership with KFF will expand Blue Ventures’ ecological monitoring programme in Timor-Leste, its global strategic focus on blue carbon, and further scale up the network of peer-to-peer knowledge exchange between coastal communities.

© Kiwa Initiative

In Timor-Leste, small-scale fishers have an important role to play in adapting to climate change. Supported by Blue Ventures, these communities are showing that local nature-based solutions are effective and full of hope.

Since the project began en 2022, the results have been impressive:

• 30,000 mangrove seedlings planted, helping to restore coastal ecosystems and strengthen resilience to storms.
• 1,642 hectares of community-managed marine areas, protecting biodiversity while securing sustainable livelihoods.
• 25 fishers trained in sea safety, an essential skill in increasingly unpredictable weather conditions.
• Over one tonne of waste removed from beaches, thanks to community-led clean-up operations.

This project highlights the power of traditional knowledge when combined with science and the right support. As Sr. Caetano da Cunha, local Tara Bandu coordinator, explains:
“This decision isn’t just about today, it’s about the future — for our children.”

© Kiwa Initiative

During his mission to Timor-Leste, Jules Irrmann, Counsellor for Cooperation and Cultural Affairs at the French Embassy in Indonesia, visited and highlighted several projects supported by the Kiwa Initiative:

• Opening of the Perma Youth Convergence, organised by Permatil, in the presence of Vice Prime Minister H.E. Mariano Assanami.
• Meeting with Thibault Houssier, a young water project management expert currently volunteering with Permatil.
• Visit to a mangrove nursery and restoration activities in Hera, implemented by Blue Ventures Timor-Leste and Konservasaun FLORA & FAUNA.
• Visit to a restored water source in Atauro with maun Moses from Permatil.
• Meeting with the Kiwa RELOKA project team, a natural dyeing foundation created by Mana Hilly to support women’s empowerment.

These visits illustrate the diversity and impact of initiatives supported by the Kiwa Initiative in Timor-Leste, combining biodiversity conservation, community engagement, and economic empowerment.