Report by Zevonia Vieira
Approximately 20% of Timor-Leste’s 1,12 million citizens reside in the capital city of Dili with one landfill, the Tibar dump. As the only land fill site for Dili and its surrounding areas, the Tibar dump is an open dumping site with only two compactor machines, operated by the Directorate of Water and Sanitation.
Regarding to the press release that Neon Metin access, inform that The imminent waste management crisis in Timor-Leste has led a group of young people under the Gen-Z talk Timor-Leste community, to initiate an awareness programme and installation of waste segregation bins at the Colégio Paulos Sexto school in Dili.
On 9 and 10 November 2024, an open discussion and training sessions were held to discuss the importance of waste segregation with speakers from Caltech Environment and Conservation for Environment. The sessions were participated by 123 people from students, staff, faculty, surrounding community, and youth volunteers.
“We have never experienced doing waste segregation practices because we do not know what waste segregation is and how to do it,” Professor Norberto, Coordinator from the Haburas Ambiente Natureza, Colégio Paulos Sexto, said
“Waste can contaminate our water, affect our health and destroy our biodiversity. To fight against this, there is a need for high-level dialogue between countries to agreen on how best to reduce waste and how to treat waste so that it is less harmful. This is where diplomacy is needed,” H.E. Marc Fiedrich, Ambassador of the European Union to Timor-Leste said in his opening remarks. “There is also a need to inform and educate the whole population on the negative impact of waste and what everyone of us can do to reduce waste and put less stress on our environment,” He added.
The event was supported by the Delegation of the European Union to ASEAN as part of the EU Green Diplomacy Weeks in ASEAN 2024. The EU Green Diplomacy Week is one of the EU’s global campaigns to promote cooperation on climate change and inspire meaningful action. This annual event has evolved into a significant occasion where the EU and its Member States host a series of events
worldwide, fostering dialogue and collaboration on climate issues. These events serve as a platform to showcase successful sustainability initiatives and motivate further green actions.
“The European Union is committed to supporting our partners in their respective green transitions, including ASEAN Member States,” said the EU Ambassador to ASEAN, H.E. Sujiro Seam. “This event shows our commitment to continue working together with ASEAN towards a greener sustainable and inclusive future. It is an opportunity to encourage and motivate individuals, communities and organisations to take stronger actions – to protect, preserve and restore our environment, for now and for future generations,” he added.
