To promote the use of local and indigenous knowledge for disaster risk reduction and climate change
adaptation in Timor-Leste, it is important to note that:
It is a country where customary laws (Tara Bandu) to protect and conserve natural resources and maintain
social relationships are strongly supported by the national government, thus local and indigenous knowledge
is well-entrenched and practised daily in many parts of the country.
At the same time, government entities at national and district levels are still in the process of building their
capacities to formulate programmes, plans and activities to deal with multiple hazards in addition to climaterelated
hazards.
Actions at this point would be best directed at supporting the formation of disaster risk reduction entities
at different levels, and developing the capacities of these, as well as government entities, and national and
local NGOs that play central roles in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, to include local
and indigenous knowledge in their disaster plans.
Local and indigenous knowledge can also be incorporated into broader planning processes, for example,
during the revision of the National Disaster Risk Management Policy.
It is just as important to secure the strong support of development partners and international NGOs
to promote the recognition of local and indigenous knowledge (and its identification, documentation,
validation, and integration) as an important resource in development programmes.