USAID's Coral Triangle Project Helps Communities Protect Their Future

In Timor-Leste, many people depend on the sea for their livelihoods. USAID’s regional Coral Triangle Support Partnership (CTSP) is working with coastal communities in Timor-Leste’s Nino Konis Santana National Park to help them better understand, manage and protect their resources, including vital land and marine habitats for wildlife. Now communities can conserve fish stocks, protect turtles and their eggs, and look after the ecosystems they rely on.

In a recent example of community action, guesthouse managers Edmundo (in photo) and Robella da Cruz in Com organized community members into a turtle egg protection team -- fencing a vulnerable nest site, guarding it from dogs and other potential marauders, and protecting the hatchlings on their way to the sea. They also monitored hatch dates and hatchling numbers to build the community's knowledge base. "Now the government knows that businesses such as ours do care for the environment," Ms. da Cruz explained, "because, simply put, a healthy environment is good for business."

USAID’s CTSP is a consortium of Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy and the World Wildlife Fund that is led in Timor-Leste by Conservation International.