Asian Journal of Environment and Disaster Management 2010 2 1

doi: 10.3850/S1793924010000386

Community-based Natural Resource Management and Post-conflict Assistance in Timor-leste

Naori Miyazawa Department of International Studies, Institute of Environmental Studies, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwanoha 5-1-5, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba, 277-8563, Japan. naori miyazawa@yahoo.co.jp

ABSTRACT

This study extracts the characteristics of a natural resource management support project in post-conflict Timor-Leste, and specifies factors which influenced the project’s successes and failures. The case study looks at the reforestation project from two different phases; the first phase was less than successful, and the second phase was successful. The outcomes of the project were the result of several key factors. First, in post-conflict societies, communitybased reforestation activities were found to be difficult inmany cases because the community had not recovered sufficiently. Success was related to the project’s incorporation of community reconstruction activities into its second phase. Furthermore, the case study identifies that success of reforestation activity is associated with the motivation of communities, since project implementation requires cooperation among community members, especially for planting and maintenance. One approach taken to advance the project was the formation of self-help groups, particularly through tree nursery operations. Self-help groups may be able to provide a basis for a self-sustaining system of community to facilitate development at the grassroots level.

Keywords: Community-based natural resource management, Post-conflict assistance, Timor-leste, Community recovery.

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