Civil society leads climate action in Timor Leste

She now encourages other women to participate and work together to influence authorities so that they take proper action for climate change and disaster risk reduction.

Her role as Chief keeps her busy. "I have participated in climate change adaptation workshops at village level, developed responsibilities for the VDCMC group and developed the local action plan for disaster and climate change adaption. I have also worked with teachers and students in primary schools to integrate their proposals into the municipal action plan."

Unsurprisingly, her work is already producing results. "The municipal authorities were very positive to our presentation on the adaptive plans and I expect our planning to be implemented with the support of relevant institutions at the municipal level."

Together with Francisca, 25 local civil society organisations, and over 100,000 people benefit from the project, that covers 17 villages around Timor-Leste.

Looking to the future

Francisca and other participants in the project have been receiving training on climate change, and good policy and practices to mitigate its impact. Project partners also worked together with communities on awareness-raising activities on the effects of climate change and climate-smart responses at local level.

From early on, the project aspired to include women and girls in a meaningful and impactful way. Plan International also organised discussions dedicated specifically to women and girls, with a focus on how they can ensure that female representatives are part of the hazard vulnerability and capacity assessment processes.

As a result, women currently represent 31% of the Village Disaster and Climate Management Councils and are leading them in 3 villages. For the success of disaster climate management strategies, it's vital that women have a seat at the table, sharing their voices and solutions.