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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/east-timor/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 19 Aug 2026 05:26:51 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>East Timor environmental news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/east-timor/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Timor green pigeon nears extinction after decades of inaction, study warns</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/timor-green-pigeon-nears-extinction-after-decades-of-inaction-study-warns/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/timor-green-pigeon-nears-extinction-after-decades-of-inaction-study-warns/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Aug 2026 16:31:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Timothy Mihocik]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/12120441/Timor-green-pigeon-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326043</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Timor, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Islands, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On April 20, Jafet Potenzo Lopes was surveying the south coast of Manatuto municipality, in Timor-Leste, when he recorded something he had not seen in years: three Timor green pigeons, alive, in a location where the species had never been documented before. Lopes is one of Timor-Leste&#8217;s few field ecologists. He was born and raised [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On April 20, Jafet Potenzo Lopes was surveying the south coast of Manatuto municipality, in Timor-Leste, when he recorded something he had not seen in years: three Timor green pigeons, alive, in a location where the species had never been documented before. Lopes is one of Timor-Leste&#8217;s few field ecologists. He was born and raised in the village of Com, inside Nino Konis Santana National Park — the last place on Earth where a viable population of this species, Treron psittaceus, still survives. He has spent more than a decade walking through forests, coastal habitats and mountains across the country, documenting what remains. “Rediscovering the Timor green pigeon was one of the most emotional moments of my life,&#8221; he says. “I was almost crying when I saw them in the wild. In my heart and mind, I kept saying, ‘Yes, yes, they still exist.’” Researchers estimate that only 100-500 Timor green pigeons remain globally, and believe the true number is probably toward the lower end of that range. “Seeing them alive gave me hope,” Lopes says. But despite decades of concern for the endangered bird, the species still lacks a dedicated recovery program, regular population monitoring and sustained conservation investment. T. psittaceus inhabits the lowland forests of Timor, a Southeast Asian island divided between Timor-Leste and the Indonesian region of West Timor. Less than 10% of the island’s original forest cover remains. A recent survey of the species published in the journal Oryx, the most comprehensive ever conducted, compiled more&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/timor-green-pigeon-nears-extinction-after-decades-of-inaction-study-warns/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/timor-green-pigeon-nears-extinction-after-decades-of-inaction-study-warns/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326043</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Why Africa should link nutritional data with fisheries management (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/why-africa-should-link-nutritional-data-with-fisheries-management-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/why-africa-should-link-nutritional-data-with-fisheries-management-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Jul 2026 14:11:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Essam Yassin Mohammed]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/14134651/54324375381_0dfb827375_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323387</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and East Timor]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, Governance, Marine, Marine Conservation, Natural Resources, Nutrition, Oceans, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Off the coast of Timor-Leste, fishers are building something many countries still lack: A clearer picture of how small-scale fishing nourishes people. For six years, fishers have logged their trips and recorded the gear used, the habitats visited and the catch brought home in a digital system built with the government of Timor-Leste. More than [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Off the coast of Timor-Leste, fishers are building something many countries still lack: A clearer picture of how small-scale fishing nourishes people. For six years, fishers have logged their trips and recorded the gear used, the habitats visited and the catch brought home in a digital system built with the government of Timor-Leste. More than 77,000 trips later, that data has produced a study that urges governments to change how they think about fisheries management. The value of a catch is not just measured in kilos; where people fish and the gear they use can shape the nutrients that end up in local diets. Small pelagic fish can be rich in iron, calcium, zinc and omega-3s, while marine invertebrates gathered by hand, often by women and usually overlooked in official statistics, can also be nutritionally important. That matters because fisheries are too often managed around what is landed and sold, not who is nourished. A session during the Our Ocean conference in Mombasa, Kenya. Image by Malavika Vyawahare/Mongabay. After the first Our Ocean Conference held on African soil, this evidence feels especially timely. That event in Mombasa in June put Africa’s ocean future in the global spotlight, but the real test now is whether new commitments help countries build the systems needed to manage aquatic foods for people and not just for production, trade and conservation. Now the question is what those commitments will deliver. For decades, fisheries management has been built around one question: How many tons were landed?&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/why-africa-should-link-nutritional-data-with-fisheries-management-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/why-africa-should-link-nutritional-data-with-fisheries-management-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323387</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Southeast Asian nations chart important new course toward environmental justice (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/southeast-asian-nations-chart-important-new-course-toward-environmental-justice-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/southeast-asian-nations-chart-important-new-course-toward-environmental-justice-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Jun 2026 22:57:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[John Knox]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/11081601/jambi_220653_2560px-768x512-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321042</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Law, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have made an important commitment to environmental justice for the 680 million people who call this region home. Now comes the hard part: putting it into practice. Last October, ASEAN member states — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have made an important commitment to environmental justice for the 680 million people who call this region home. Now comes the hard part: putting it into practice. Last October, ASEAN member states — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam — adopted a Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment. They are currently in the process of drafting a regional plan of action to give it life. The right to a healthy environment as it’s usually called is now globally accepted as a fundamental human right. ASEAN first recognized this right in 2012 in the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration. In 2022, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the right in a virtually unanimous vote: 161 governments voted in favor, none against, and only eight abstained. At the national level, more than 100 countries now include it in their constitutions. Southeast Asia enjoys a rich natural heritage, like this coral reef in the Philippines, that supports the lives and livelihoods of millions of people. Image courtesy of Jett Britnell/Coral Reef Image Bank. At the same time, international tribunals and domestic courts have made strides in clarifying what the right requires. In July 2025, the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, issued an opinion on climate change in which it said the human right to a healthy environment is inherent and essential for other human rights, including&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/southeast-asian-nations-chart-important-new-course-toward-environmental-justice-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/southeast-asian-nations-chart-important-new-course-toward-environmental-justice-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321042</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Unregulated tourism risks disrupting Timor-Leste’s whale migration</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/unregulated-tourism-risks-disrupting-timor-lestes-whale-migration/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/unregulated-tourism-risks-disrupting-timor-lestes-whale-migration/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Dec 2025 03:09:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Robin Hicks]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/08160620/Maternal-sperm-whale-pod-too-close-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310754</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Timor, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Ethics, Mammals, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, Migration, Oceans, Tourism, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[DILI, Timor-Leste — Whale tourism in Timor-Leste is booming. Tour operators report a healthy number of sightings and full bookings in the peak season of September to December, when hundreds of pygmy blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) make the journey through the Ombai-Wetar Strait on their way south to western Australia. Customers splurge $5,000 for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[DILI, Timor-Leste — Whale tourism in Timor-Leste is booming. Tour operators report a healthy number of sightings and full bookings in the peak season of September to December, when hundreds of pygmy blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) make the journey through the Ombai-Wetar Strait on their way south to western Australia. Customers splurge $5,000 for a week of swimming with the lite version of the world’s largest animal in a country that has unmatched potential for whale watching, because of its deep, nutrient-rich waters close to the shore and relatively undisturbed marine environment. “For me, the whales represent the health of the ecosystem — they’re the most visible sign of something much bigger happening below the surface,” local conservationist and photographer Jafet Potenzo Lopes tells Mongabay in an interview. “When a blue whale or sperm whale passes along the coast, it’s not just a sighting; it’s a reminder that this coastline is still functioning in a way that many places have lost.” Timor-Leste’s marine mammal “superhighway,” traversed by migrating blue and sperm whales and resident pods of pilot whales, orcas and dolphins, attracts tourists from around the world. Operators are already fully booked for 2026 and 2027. “Even though [whale] encounters are never guaranteed, tourists will always try their luck,” says Rechelle Trasmonte, a Philippine national and dive organizer at Compass Diving, one of Timor-Leste’s six major whale tour operators. This season, however, serious concerns about malpractice have emerged. In an open letter shared with Mongabay in November, British underwater&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/unregulated-tourism-risks-disrupting-timor-lestes-whale-migration/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/unregulated-tourism-risks-disrupting-timor-lestes-whale-migration/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310754</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Protecting peatlands and mangroves could halve Southeast Asia’s land-use emissions</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/protecting-peatlands-and-mangroves-could-halve-southeast-asias-land-use-emissions/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/protecting-peatlands-and-mangroves-could-halve-southeast-asias-land-use-emissions/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Feb 2025 11:48:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/12/06135320/peats-indonesia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=294600</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Thailand, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Carbon Emissions, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Ecosystems, Emission Reduction, Fires, Forests, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Landscape Restoration, Mangroves, Nature-based climate solutions, Peatlands, Reforestation, Restoration, Solutions, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA —  Southeast Asia’s peatlands and mangroves store immense amounts of carbon, yet they’re rapidly disappearing. A new study finds that conserving and restoring these ecosystems could cut the region’s greenhouse gas emissions from land use in half — equivalent to 16% of the world’s total land-use emissions. An international team of scientists from the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA —  Southeast Asia’s peatlands and mangroves store immense amounts of carbon, yet they’re rapidly disappearing. A new study finds that conserving and restoring these ecosystems could cut the region’s greenhouse gas emissions from land use in half — equivalent to 16% of the world’s total land-use emissions. An international team of scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS), with contributions from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore and James Cook University in Australia, assessed the potential for emissions reductions through conserving and restoring peat swamp forests and mangroves across Southeast Asia. Their study, published in Nature Communications, concluded that despite occupying only 5% of the region’s land area, these ecosystems hold immense potential for climate mitigation. According to the study, restoring currently degraded peat swamp forests and mangroves in Southeast Asia could reduce 94 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) annually. Combined with conservation, as much as 770 MtCO2e could be mitigated each year, representing nearly half of the region’s land-use emissions. The study estimated that there are 5.34 million hectares (13.4 million acres) of drained peatlands in Southeast Asia, an area larger than Costa Rica, and that rewetting them offers the largest emissions reduction potential. Restoring degraded peat swamp forests, of which there are 2.64 million hectares (6.52 million acres) in the region, and mangroves (0.07 million hectares, or about 170,000 acres) could further enhance carbon sequestration, the study found. “These ecosystems pack a climate mitigation punch far beyond their size, offering one of the most scalable&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/protecting-peatlands-and-mangroves-could-halve-southeast-asias-land-use-emissions/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/protecting-peatlands-and-mangroves-could-halve-southeast-asias-land-use-emissions/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-294600</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>When seas turn rough, gleaning keeps the fish on the table for some communities</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/when-seas-turn-rough-gleaning-keeps-the-fish-on-the-table-for-some-communities/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/when-seas-turn-rough-gleaning-keeps-the-fish-on-the-table-for-some-communities/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Feb 2021 03:41:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/02/16081758/grantham_pan-20-05-116.r1-e1608032345105-15.00.44-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=239623</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indonesian Fisheries and Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Timor, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Ecosystems, Environment, Fisheries, Fishing, Islands, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Research, and Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Communities living close to hard-bottomed shallow shores are more likely to hand-catch marine animals during seasons when other types of fishing often aren’t possible, a new study shows. The findings suggest that worsening sea conditions due to climate change will increase the importance of this type of harvest, known as coastal gleaning. Fishing communities that [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Communities living close to hard-bottomed shallow shores are more likely to hand-catch marine animals during seasons when other types of fishing often aren’t possible, a new study shows. The findings suggest that worsening sea conditions due to climate change will increase the importance of this type of harvest, known as coastal gleaning. Fishing communities that collect edible marine organisms in shallow areas at low tide are dependent on the interaction between season and shallow habitat as wave attenuation and water clarity are key for gleaning, says the paper published Jan. 27 in the journal People and Nature. The researchers found that more fishing households practiced gleaning in the rough season than in the calm season. They said gleaners during the rough season had more stable seafood consumption between seasons than those who did not glean. “The inspiration for the study came during conversations with people about the types of fishing that they do at different times of the year, and I realized that their responses were very different in different communities,” lead author Ruby Grantham, a Ph.D. candidate from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at Australia’s James Cook University, said in an email to Mongabay. “As far as I know there have not been other studies that combine spatial and social data to understand how habitat influences seasonal gleaning, which makes it a really exciting piece of research,” she said. Timor-Leste, a Southeast Asian nation occupying the eastern half of the island of Timor. Indonesia occupies&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/when-seas-turn-rough-gleaning-keeps-the-fish-on-the-table-for-some-communities/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/when-seas-turn-rough-gleaning-keeps-the-fish-on-the-table-for-some-communities/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-239623</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Timor-Leste: With sacrifice and ceremony, tribe sets eco rules</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/11/timor-leste-with-sacrifice-and-ceremony-tribe-sets-eco-rules/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/11/timor-leste-with-sacrifice-and-ceremony-tribe-sets-eco-rules/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Nov 2018 11:19:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bikash Kumar Bhattacharya]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/11/08105957/BBhattacharya_TimorLeste_MapLocal_Banner-768x451.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=212071</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation and Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Timor, Oceania, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Development, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Forests, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Law Enforcement, Mangroves, Marine, Marine Conservation, Overfishing, Solutions, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
											<grant>
							<![CDATA[ACF2018, CBO2017]]>
						</grant>
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Read the other stories in Mongabay’s three-part profile of the Maubere’s revival of tara bandu: Timor-Leste: Maubere tribes revive customary law to protect the ocean Timor-Leste: Q&#38;A with a Maubere fisherman on reviving depleted fisheries &#160; On the morning of Aug. 20, 2012, about 150 men, women and children gathered in the village of Biacou, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Read the other stories in Mongabay’s three-part profile of the Maubere’s revival of tara bandu: Timor-Leste: Maubere tribes revive customary law to protect the ocean Timor-Leste: Q&amp;A with a Maubere fisherman on reviving depleted fisheries &nbsp; On the morning of Aug. 20, 2012, about 150 men, women and children gathered in the village of Biacou, in northern Timor-Leste. They assembled at a sacred spot called Oho-no-rai to take part in a ceremony inaugurating the village’s tara bandu, a customary law of the island nation’s indigenous tribes, collectively called Maubere, that governs how people interact with their local environment. A dozen men clad in traditional sarongs and feathered headdresses stood around a wooden pole to which a goat was tied, while the rest sat in small circles nearby, watching. Francisco Talimeta, the village’s chief ritual authority, sprinkled water on the goat and uttered some prayers. He then killed the animal by piercing its heart with a sharp iron spear. The sacrifice triggered muted applause and cheers among the crowd: the spilling of blood made the place lulik,or sacred, and enabled communication with the ancestral spirits. Talimeta scrutinized the goat’s viscera for signs that Rai na’in and Tasi na&#8217;in, the Maubere spirit of the land and the spirit of the sea, respectively, approved of the village’s intent to renew the tara bandu law. Finding favorable evidence, he communicated directly with the spirits and then offered them food, areca leaves, betel nut and palm wine in thanks. Immediately afterward, Talimeta sacrificed a pig in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/11/timor-leste-with-sacrifice-and-ceremony-tribe-sets-eco-rules/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-212071</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Timor-Leste: Q&#038;A with a Maubere fisherman on reviving depleted fisheries</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/10/timor-leste-qa-with-a-maubere-fisherman-on-reviving-depleted-fisheries/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/10/timor-leste-qa-with-a-maubere-fisherman-on-reviving-depleted-fisheries/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Oct 2018 12:36:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bikash Kumar Bhattacharya]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/10/31123054/BBhattacharya_TimorLeste_15_Banner-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=211728</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation and Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Timor, Oceania, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Community-based Conservation, Development, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Law Enforcement, Marine, Marine Conservation, and Overfishing]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
											<grant>
							<![CDATA[ACF2018, CBO2017]]>
						</grant>
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Read the other stories in Mongabay’s three-part profile of the Maubere’s revival of tara bandu: Timor-Leste: Maubere tribes revive customary law to protect the ocean Timor-Leste: With sacrifice and ceremony, tribe sets eco rules &#160; Communities across Timor-Leste have traditionally depended on subsistence fishing, in addition to farming of crops and livestock, for their livelihoods. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Read the other stories in Mongabay’s three-part profile of the Maubere’s revival of tara bandu: Timor-Leste: Maubere tribes revive customary law to protect the ocean Timor-Leste: With sacrifice and ceremony, tribe sets eco rules &nbsp; Communities across Timor-Leste have traditionally depended on subsistence fishing, in addition to farming of crops and livestock, for their livelihoods. Commercial fishing in the fledgling Southeast Asian nation is still in anascent stage. Located in the heart of theCoral Triangle, Timor-Leste is now working toward developing a sustainable fisheries sector with support from international donors.The Timor-Leste government’s Strategic Development Plan (2011-2030) calls for an increase in fisheries productivity to enable diversification of the island nation’s oil-dependent economy. Local and national efforts have been underway to figure out how to sustainably tap the country’s fisheries and other valued marine resources. In one of the most interesting and successful local efforts, several communities across the country have been reviving the ancient customary law of tara bandu. Tara bandu is a means of regulating the use of natural resources common to Timor-Leste’s various indigenous tribes, who refer to themselves collectively as Maubere. In northern Timor-Leste, on the shore of the Wetar Strait, locally known as the Tasi Feto, the village of Biacou revived tara bandu in 2012 to protect and better manage its fisheries and coral reefs. The village’s tara bandu law designates several no-fishing zones, bans the destructive fishing techniques of bombing and poisoning, and prohibits the capture of certain marine species, such as sea turtles and corals. Six&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/10/timor-leste-qa-with-a-maubere-fisherman-on-reviving-depleted-fisheries/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-211728</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Timor-Leste: Maubere tribes revive customary law to protect the ocean</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/10/timor-leste-maubere-tribes-revive-customary-law-to-protect-the-ocean/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/10/timor-leste-maubere-tribes-revive-customary-law-to-protect-the-ocean/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Oct 2018 13:44:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bikash Kumar Bhattacharya]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/10/26125543/BBhattacharya_TimorLeste_10-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=211536</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation and Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Timor, Oceania, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Coastal Ecosystems, Community Forests, Community-based Conservation, Development, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Forests, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Law Enforcement, Mangroves, Marine, Marine Conservation, Overfishing, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
											<grant>
							<![CDATA[ACF2018, CBO2017]]>
						</grant>
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Read the other stories in Mongabay’s three-part profile of the Maubere’s revival of tara bandu: Timor-Leste: Q&#38;A with a Maubere fisherman on reviving depleted fisheries Timor-Leste: With sacrifice and ceremony, tribe sets eco rules &#160; BIACOU, Timor-Leste — In October of 2012, 43-year-old Buru-Bara and four of his fellow villagers went to fish in the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Read the other stories in Mongabay’s three-part profile of the Maubere’s revival of tara bandu: Timor-Leste: Q&amp;A with a Maubere fisherman on reviving depleted fisheries Timor-Leste: With sacrifice and ceremony, tribe sets eco rules &nbsp; BIACOU, Timor-Leste — In October of 2012, 43-year-old Buru-Bara and four of his fellow villagers went to fish in the turquoise waters that break gently on the northern coast of Timor-Leste. They had a good catch that day, and on their way back home they sat down under an old tamarind tree, where they kindled a fire to grill some fish and started drinking palm wine. “A few hours later, while leaving the place, we forgot to stamp out the fire,” Buru-Bara told Mongabay. “The fire soon spread to the tamarind tree and burned it to ashes.” The burning of the tree, although unintentional, would cost the five men the equivalent of $60 each, about the average monthly wage for the country. The tree had been declared sacred, and damaging it was prohibited under tara bandu, a customary law common to Timor-Leste’s various indigenous ethnic groups, who collectively refer to themselves as Maubere. A few days after the incident, at a gathering in the churchyard of their village of Biacou, village leaders handed down the penalty. The five men unhesitatingly paid the fine, Buru-Bara said, because violating tara bandu is sacrilegious in Maubere tradition. “It’s a grave disrespect to Rai na’in [a land spirit] and the community, and one must redress it at any cost,”&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/10/timor-leste-maubere-tribes-revive-customary-law-to-protect-the-ocean/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-211536</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fishing with insecticide-laced mosquito nets is a global phenomenon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/02/fishing-with-insecticide-laced-mosquito-nets-is-a-global-phenomenon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/02/fishing-with-insecticide-laced-mosquito-nets-is-a-global-phenomenon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Feb 2018 13:54:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Benjamin Graham]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/02/06134000/BGraham_MosquitoNet_BangladeshChittagong-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=203552</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Oceans]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, East Africa, East Timor, Global, Mozambique, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Developing Countries, Development, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Malaria, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, Public Health, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
											<grant>
							<![CDATA[CBO2017]]>
						</grant>
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Fishermen in the Dili district of Timor-Leste have found an extra perk of the insecticide added to their mosquito bed nets: the chemicals act as a Taser for shrimp. The bed nets are supposed to ward off malaria, but, with a few strong branches and some twine, it’s easy to refashion them into fishing nets [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Fishermen in the Dili district of Timor-Leste have found an extra perk of the insecticide added to their mosquito bed nets: the chemicals act as a Taser for shrimp. The bed nets are supposed to ward off malaria, but, with a few strong branches and some twine, it’s easy to refashion them into fishing nets that immobilize small shrimp or fish with toxins and ensnare them in the mesh. The fishermen of Dili aren’t the only ones to come up with this idea, either. People in developing countries around the world are repurposing mosquito nets to catch fish, according to a new study, and the practice could have significant environmental and socioeconomic implications. In nearby Papua New Guinea, study participants reported Chinese traders giving mosquito nets to fishermen to catch seahorses, a valuable ingredient in Chinese traditional medicine. An ocean away, on the shallow waters of Lake Alaotra, Madagascar’s largest freshwater body, people use their bed nets to catch juvenile fish. A juvenile trevally caught in a mosquito net in coastal Mozambique. Trevally are a group of species that are commercially important in the region. Photo by Rebecca Short. None of this was too surprising to Rebecca Short, a researcher with the Zoological Society of London and lead author of the new study. Short first witnessed the practice in a beach town in Mozambique, where she watched two women use mosquito nets to scoop small sea creatures out of the surf. Later during the trip, Short realized just how widespread&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/02/fishing-with-insecticide-laced-mosquito-nets-is-a-global-phenomenon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-203552</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Atauro island has highest average reef fish diversity in the world</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/08/atauro-island-has-highest-average-reef-fish-diversity-in-the-world/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/08/atauro-island-has-highest-average-reef-fish-diversity-in-the-world/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Aug 2016 06:12:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/08/01192726/ci_90200724_Medium-495x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=188794</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Timor, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Environment, Fish, Islands, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ataúro Island, located just 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) north of Dili, Timor-Leste&#8217;s capital, may have the highest average fish diversity in the world, a new survey has found. Of the 10 reef sites surveyed around the island, biologists found an average of 253 reef fish species per site. This surpasses the previous record held by [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Ataúro Island, located just 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) north of Dili, Timor-Leste&#8217;s capital, may have the highest average fish diversity in the world, a new survey has found. Of the 10 reef sites surveyed around the island, biologists found an average of 253 reef fish species per site. This surpasses the previous record held by Raja Ampat Island in Indonesia’s West Papua province. The survey was conducted for a week in July by Conservation International’s (CI’s) Rapid Assessment Program (RAP). During the course of the week-long survey, CI’s team recorded a total of 642 reef fish species around the island. In one site, the team identified 315 species, which is the third highest globally, the researchers say. The researchers suspects that some of the species recorded could be new to science. &#8220;With each study, we discover something new within Timor-Leste&#8217;s magnificent biodiversity, making it even more critical to protect marine life here,” Trudiann Dale, Conservation International Timor-Leste&#8217;s country director, said in a statement. “The results prove beyond doubt that the reefs of Ataúro Island are extremely diverse and valuable to the people of Timor-Leste.&#8221; Leaving Atauro Island on speedboat. Photo copyright: Conservation International/Photo by Tracy Farrell. The RAP team also assessed the health of coral reefs around Ataúro, and found that while many reefs appeared healthy, some reefs have previously been damaged by blast fishing, and showed “notable absence” of larger reef fish like sharks. “Some sites have stunning hard coral gardens and breathtaking vistas full of schools of reef fish, while other&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/08/atauro-island-has-highest-average-reef-fish-diversity-in-the-world/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-188794</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New book series hopes to inspire research in world&#8217;s &#8216;hottest biodiversity hotspot&#8217;</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2012/01/new-book-series-hopes-to-inspire-research-in-worlds-hottest-biodiversity-hotspot/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2012/01/new-book-series-hopes-to-inspire-research-in-worlds-hottest-biodiversity-hotspot/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Jan 2012 23:13:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2012/01/new-book-series-hopes-to-inspire-research-in-worlds-hottest-biodiversity-hotspot/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Timor, Flores, Indonesia, Komodo, New Guinea, Pacific Islands, Pacific Ocean, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Sulawesi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Beetles, Biodiversity, Biogeography, Birds, Conservation, Deforestation, Education, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Green, Herps, Hunting, Insects, Interviews, Invertebrates, Islands, Logging, Mammals, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Palm Oil, Parks, Plantations, Plants, Politics, Poverty, Poverty Alleviation, Protected Areas, Pulp And Paper, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Roads, Saving Rainforests, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, Species Discovery, Threats To Rainforests, Traditional People, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Pristine coastal vegetation: Misool island, Raja Ampat. Photo by: Dimtry Telnov, 2009. Entomologist Dmitry Telnov hopes his new pet project will inspire and disseminate research about one of the world&#8217;s last unexplored biogeographical regions: Wallacea and New Guinea. Incredibly rich in biodiversity and still full of unknown species, the region, also known as the Indo-Australian [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Pristine coastal vegetation: Misool island, Raja Ampat. Photo by: Dimtry Telnov, 2009. Entomologist Dmitry Telnov hopes his new pet project will inspire and disseminate research about one of the world&#8217;s last unexplored biogeographical regions: Wallacea and New Guinea. Incredibly rich in biodiversity and still full of unknown species, the region, also known as the Indo-Australian transition, spans many of the tropical islands of the Pacific, including Indonesia&#8217;s Sulawesi, Komodo and Flores, as well as East Timor&#8212;the historically famous &#8220;spice islands&#8221; of the Moluccan Archipelago&#8212;the Solomon Islands, and, of course, New Guinea. Telnov has begun a new book series, entitled Biodiversity, Biogeography and Nature Conservation in Wallacea and New Guinea, that aims to compile and highlight new research in the region, focusing both on biology and conservation. The first volume, currently available, also includes the description of 150 new species. &#8220;This territory is described as one of the most diverse, least explored and most endangered (both in cultural and natural aspects) regions on our planet, the &#8216;hottest&#8217; biodiversity hotspot,&#8221; says Telnov in a mongabay.com interview, adding that, &#8220;generally, [the region] covers less than 1 percent of the world’s total land area but holds the world’s highest biological diversity both in terrestrial and marine ecosystems, in addition to an amazing diversity of human cultures and languages.&#8221; Book cover of Biodiversity, Biogeography and Nature Conservation in Wallacea and New Guinea. Despite its staggering wealth of species and cultures, much of the remote parts of region remain unexplored, while many places are undergoing drastic&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2012/01/new-book-series-hopes-to-inspire-research-in-worlds-hottest-biodiversity-hotspot/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-31461</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>U.S. pledges $40M toward coral reef conservation.</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2008/10/u-s-pledges-40m-toward-coral-reef-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2008/10/u-s-pledges-40m-toward-coral-reef-conservation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Oct 2008 14:30:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2008/12/u-s-pledges-40m-toward-coral-reef-conservation/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, and Solomon Islands]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Coral Reefs, Environment, Fish, Fishing, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Marine Conservation, Ocean Acidification, Oceans, Pollution, and Sustainable Development]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[U.S. pledges $40M toward coral reef conservation U.S. pledges $40M toward coral reef conservation mongabay.com October 23, 2008]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[U.S. pledges $40M toward coral reef conservation U.S. pledges $40M toward coral reef conservation mongabay.com October 23, 2008This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2008/10/u-s-pledges-40m-toward-coral-reef-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-37888</doi>				</item>
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