Timor-Leste lies right at the heart of The Coral Triangle, an area of 648 million hectares which holds the world’s highest diversity of marine life and is also home to some of the world’s poorest people. Although small compared to other countries in the Coral Triangle, Timor-Leste boasts rich and relatively pristine marine areas as well as huge unfulfilled economic potential in marine and coastal ecotourism.
Today, over half of the people in Timor-Leste live on less than $2 a day and around 90 percent depend on natural resources to survive. Rapid development, unsustainable fishing practices and climate change all threaten the valuable marine ecosystems surrounding Timor-Leste, posing serious challenges to the ongoing food security for this small nation.
Through the Coral Triangle Support Partnership (CTSP), USAID works with the government and coastal communities of Timor-Leste to improve the skills of the people who are instrumental in maintaining their precious marine areas. Since 2009, CTSP has trained hundreds of fishermen to better manage their coastline, and has helped the Ministry of Fisheries to develop polices which use conservation, sustainable fisheries, and Climate Change Adaptation to protect their most vulnerable coastal communities.