Climate Change

Climate change impacts

• Socio-economic impacts of climate change, with research focused on climate change impacts such as drought, on family income, access to clean water, and other associated impacts.
• Climate change and health – research into the effects of climate change on diseases in Timor-Leste (e.g. Malaria, Dengue) and their increase of incidence due to mosquito population and temperature rises.
• Analysis of climate change impacts to Timor-Leste according to current and future predictions.
  
• Identification of climate change risks to species losses.
• Climate change vulnerability and risk assessments, identifying adaptation options for agriculture, biodiversity conservation, fisheries, livestock, infrastructure, natural disasters and health.
• Agricultural adaptation – research into the adaptation of plant species and cultivars that are well-adapted to drought and floods; and screening of drought resilient species and/or introducing resistant species/cultivar through plant breeding programmes.
• The identification of technologies to mitigate the impacts of climate change (e.g. alternative energy technologies, farming technologies, or existing local knowledge). 

Biodiversity

• Biodiversity Conservation, including, but not limited to: agricultural biodiversity, coastal and marine biodiversity, uplands and mountain biodiversity, forest biodiversity, and water catchment biodiversity.
  
• Loss of species – the identification of plant and animal species losses and identification of causes and strategies for conservation.
• Identification of species for potential development and/or medicinal use, and/or other commercial and research interests and their associated research under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) programme.
• Biodiversity research to support the Government of Timor-Leste in developing conservation policies and measures.
• Reduction of land conversion – research into the improvement of farming practices to maintain the production of crops while minimising forest land conversion for farming. 

Government of Timor-Leste

• Research outputs, data and recommendations for the government of Timor-Leste, for the purposes of policy-development in addressing climate change, food security, and sustainable development.

Capacity Building and Awareness Raising

• Climate change and biodiversity capacity building, awareness raising and behaviour change.
• Training for researchers in climate change areas, with a focus on Vulnerability Impact Assessments and adaptation.