Floods, droughts, storms, and heavy rainfall are all too common in Timor-Leste, as are severe weather events like the Tropical Cyclone Seroja, which in 2021 caused $245 million in damage and affected 30,000 households. The country's limited physical infrastructure and fiscal capacities only worsen the impacts of these natural hazards.
In the face of this challenge, the "Strengthening Disaster and Climate Resilience in Timor-Leste" technical assistance has been key to informing investments in disaster and climate risk management and strengthening urban resilience in the Dili municipality.
Financed by the European Union (EU), under the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP)-EU Disaster Risk Management Program, a trust fund managed by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), the initiative is now halfway through its implementation and already delivering meaningful progress.
Strengthening National Policy and Financial Resilience
A core component of this EU-funded technical assistance is the strengthening of Timor-Leste’s disaster risk management policy and financing framework. A recent Disaster Resilient and Responsive-Public Financial Management assessment conducted under this technical assistance showed several institutional advantages that Timor-Leste can build upon. Strengths include clear protocols for disaster declarations, contingency funding provisions in the Annual Budget Execution Decree, robust post-disaster financing audits, and the Ministry of Finance’s disaster recovery data center plan.
At the same time, the analysis also detailed the importance of implementing policies that could ensure financial resources are allocated and utilized more efficiently and transparently.
Work is also underway to incorporate disaster and climate risk into the State Asset Management Framework, including outlining how public investment planning decisions and private infrastructure development should be guided by harmonized and comprehensive building codes. The recommendations also emphasize the need to institutionalize and regulate whole-of-lifecycle asset management, covering everything from planning to periodic and preventative maintenance.
This groundwork is laying the foundation for a comprehensive Disaster Risk Management Financing Policy, a crucial step towards embedding resilience in preventive planning and public financial management. The World Bank team is supporting the government as part of a broader engagement to help make Timor-Leste more resilient to natural hazards.
Supporting Resilient Urban Development in Dili
At the city level, efforts have focused on strengthening urban resilience in Dili municipality A hazard, exposure, and vulnerability analysis identified high-risk sites at the Comoro and Maloa Rivers, the Dili Waterfront, and the Tasitolu Lake which are particularly vulnerable to urban flood and earthquake risks.
The technical assistance proposed interventions combining nature-based solutions and gray infrastructure to reduce risks and broader urban development. These investments could mitigate coastal erosion, reduce water pollution, protect biodiversity, while also attracting tourism, supporting livelihoods, and promoting environmental sustainability.
In addition, under the same technical assistance an overview of urban resilience engagement in Timor-Leste was completed, highlighting challenges and putting forward recommendations, like setting up a government-led steering committee to improve coordination and stakeholder ownership. These efforts, supported by an operational strategy note, provide a roadmap for integrating completed technical assistance into future urban resilience investment proposals in Dili.
Complementary Development Work
Other partners are also contributing to a more resilient Timor-Leste. The EU, with Food and Agriculture Organization support under the Pro Resilience Project, has launched a €3 million Disaster and Risk Management Strategy for the agriculture sector. The United Nations Development Programme is working to safeguard rural communities through climate-smart infrastructure, risk information systems, and policies and regulations.
The Asian Development Bank is implementing a $16 million Climate Resilience and Rural Livelihoods grant, to strengthen food and water security for about 46,000 people in Manatuto municipality.
Together these efforts reinforcing national and local capacity, and collectively supporting a society that is more physically and financially prepared to withstand natural hazards.