August 25, 2022 — the MoU signing ceremony for the 2nd AFoCO project in Timor-Leste titled, “Re-greening the bare lands in Timor-Leste through the promotion of locally customized restoration models” (AFoCO/026/2021) took place in the office of the General Directorate of Forestry, Coffee, and Industrial Plants of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fishery in Dili, Timor-Leste. The MoU signing ceremony was attended by the Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fishery, H.E. Pedro dos Reis, who was present as a witness to the party for Timor-Leste. In the brief discussions that took place during the signing ceremony, he emphasized that best efforts should take place for reforestation and rehabilitation in Timor-Leste and the project importance of the launching of the 2nd project and the rehabilitation and reforestation efforts.
A site visit prior to the MoU signing ceremony was also conducted by the Secretariat on 23 August 2022. The rehabilitation site for AFoCO/026/2021, which is located in Manatuto Municipality, is a 1 hour and 30-minute drive from Dili. The 130ha of what is currently dry and barren land is also situated next to a soccer stadium that is currently under construction, near the bay area, east of Dili. The project team informed the Secretariat that planting will be done during the rainy season and that this year, fencing would be done first to protect the project area from wild animals or illegal grazing.
The Project Inception Meeting (PIM) and the 1st Project Steering Committee (PSC) Meeting was held upon the signing of the MoU. The meetings were attended by the four national directors of the GDFCIP from each department, and were also attended by municipal directors and representatives from Manatuto and Aileu. The Chair of the Meeting, Mr. Raimundo Mau, National Focal Point of AFoCO for Timor-Leste and the Director General of the GDFCIP welcomed all the participants to the meeting and expressed sincere gratitude that the project has finally been launched. Mr. Adalfredo do Rosarino Ferreira, Project Manager of AFoCO/026/2021 presented the overall work and budget plan for the project, where fencing construction and consultations with communities in the two municipalities were the major activities for 2022.
The meeting was followed by the 1st project steering committee meeting, where the 2022 work and budget plan was approved by the PSC members. The Project Implementation Plan (PIP) was also introduced and presented to the PSC members. The two meetings successfully ended with both the approved budget and work plan for the first year of the project and the finalized Records of Discussion for the two meetings.
Submitted by Cha Jiyea, Assistant Program Officer