Over the past 20 years, Timor-Leste has been experiencing climate change impacts where global warming has led to a shift toward a hotter climate, changing the precipitation patterns and increasing heavy rainfall events
Timor-Leste is highly vulnerable to climate change due to its geographical location in pacific island, and considered a least developing country that still lacks the technology and strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change problems.
Timor-Leste has two key seasons, the wet season between December and May, and dry season between June to November. Over a decade, the population size in capital Dili rapidly increased due to the education and job opportunities more available in the urban city.
However, over the past 20 years, Timor-Leste has been experiencing impacts of climate change where global warming has led to a shift toward a hotter climate, changing the perception pattern and increasing heavy rainfall events.
Those events are leading to flooding in Dili, the capital city of Timor-Leste, and bring significant problems to the community.
In recent years, the Dili city has frequently experienced devastating urban floods due to heavy and uncertain flood caused by street floods, homes drowned, and many lives affected every year.
It is a catastrophe that puts at risk the lives, welfare and development of communities that struggle for years after independence.
It is more devastating in the city where the infrastructure is not well established. The drained system is inadequate, and it is flooded by rainwater that floods the neighborhood; erodes necessary access roads; and hinders the access to services.
Also, these events can lead to waterborne diseases which have been experienced by a lot of people in Timor-Leste and from 2021 where the case number of waterborne illness will increase up to 66.6 per cent in Dili city [WHO, 2022].
Therefore, I appeal to the leadership and decision makers at COP29 to acknowledge among other issues affecting developing countries the challenges of policymakers in small developing countries like Timor-Leste.
It is not just that glaciers are melting or seas rising for those who do not live through the ravages of climate change brought about by extreme weather.
Climate justice rectifies these inequalities that such nations should be assisted to mitigate for and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Dili’s urban flooding tells us that climate change is global and needs local and international attention.
We require better amenities, protected structural designs and eco-friendly implementation of our cities. We require the world to respond, cooperate, and help poor, producing countries, and particularly those that are most affected by emissions.
Elizabeth Ximenes: Environmental Science Program, Asian University for Women
