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Archives for August 12, 2025

Climate Justice for Women in Timor-Leste

Oxfam has published a new report: “Climate Justice for Women in Timor-Leste“

Timor-Leste is one of the most climate-vulnerable nations in the world, facing increasingly intense rainfall, cyclones, floods, and droughts. These climate impacts are not only devastating rural livelihoods, food systems, and water security, but are also widening gender inequalities and deepening poverty. Women across the country—especially those in remote and marginalised communities—are bearing the brunt of climate disasters, with limited access to recovery resources, secure land, and decision-making power.

In this context, Oxfam in Timor-Leste has released a vital new report: Climate Justice for Women in Timor-Leste: Tracking Climate Finance to Build Resilience. The report exposes a critical gap in how climate finance is currently distributed. Despite repeated global and national commitments to gender equality, only 2.4% of climate finance in Timor-Leste supports projects that prioritise gender equality. Even more concerning, just 0.4% of climate funding directly supports women’s organisations or cooperatives.

This lack of targeted investment has serious consequences. Women are at the heart of climate resilience in Timor-Leste—they manage agroforestry, lead savings groups, and organise community disaster preparedness. Yet their work is underfunded, underrecognised, and often excluded from climate policy and finance decisions. Without change, climate finance risks reinforcing the very inequalities it should be addressing.

The report also maps the complex network of climate finance decision-makers in the country, from the National Designated Authority and the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, to international donors such as the Green Climate Fund and multilateral development banks. It highlights the lack of transparency and accessible information around climate finance flows, making it nearly impossible for communities—and especially women—to track whether funds are actually reaching those most affected by climate impacts.

Importantly, the report provides a roadmap for change. It calls on bilateral partners, development banks, and the Timorese government to commit a greater share of climate finance to gender equality, create mechanisms to fund women-led initiatives, and improve public transparency through platforms available in Tetun. Ensuring that climate finance supports women’s rights is not only a matter of justice—it is a pathway to more effective, inclusive, and sustainable climate solutions.

This analysis was conducted under the Kōtui Programme, a regional initiative led by Oxfam Aotearoa with support from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Kōtui aims to improve gender equality and women’s access to resources that enhance their resilience and wellbeing in the face of climate change.

In a time when climate finance must become more equitable and accountable, Climate Justice for Women in Timor-Leste serves as both a warning and a guide. It reminds us that empowering women is not just a side goal of climate action—it is central to building lasting resilience for all.

Read the report here. 

Women’s Experiences of Climate Change Impacts in Timor-Leste

Oxfam has published a new report: “Women’s Experiences of Climate Change Impacts in Timor-Leste”

Across Timor-Leste, women are on the frontlines of the climate crisis—grappling with the intensifying impacts of cyclones, floods, droughts, and environmental degradation. A new report, Women’s Experiences of Climate Change Impacts in Timor-Leste, produced by Oxfam in Timor-Leste in partnership with Alumni Parlamentu Foinsa’e Timor-Leste (APFTL) and Core Group Transparency (CGT), sheds light on the harsh realities and invisible burdens faced by women—especially those in rural communities in Dili, Ermera, and Manatuto.

The findings show that climate change is not gender neutral. Women face compounded vulnerabilities, often balancing the responsibilities of caregiving, food production, and economic recovery in the wake of disasters. Cyclone Seroja in 2021 exemplified the destructive force of climate events, displacing thousands, damaging farmland, and plunging families into long-term insecurity. Women like Manuela Rosario Soares and Teresa Pereira shared moving accounts of how they navigated crises with resilience, despite minimal institutional support.

The report also documents the psychological toll on women, the heightened risks of gender-based violence during displacement, and the challenges women with disabilities face in emergency situations. Structural barriers—such as insecure land tenure, discrimination, and exclusion from decision-making—further intensify these risks. For example, many women are unable to access recovery subsidies because land titles are often held by men, or because they live in informal or prohibited areas.

Yet, despite these challenges, women emerge as powerful agents of resilience. The report highlights how women form savings groups, manage agroforestry initiatives, organize disaster preparedness plans, and step into leadership roles. These contributions are often overlooked, under-resourced, or unsupported by formal systems. Even as women demonstrate leadership and adaptability, they continue to face obstacles accessing climate finance, infrastructure, and platforms for decision-making.

In response, the report calls for stronger gender-responsive policies, inclusive planning processes, and direct investment in women-led initiatives. It emphasizes that to truly build climate resilience in Timor-Leste, the unique knowledge, roles, and needs of women must be recognized and supported at all levels—from government to community-based organizations.

This research is part of the Kōtui Programme, a partnership between Oxfam Aotearoa and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Kōtui aims to strengthen the resilience, wellbeing, and agency of women in the face of climate breakdown and disaster, particularly for those facing multiple layers of marginalization.

Women’s Experiences of Climate Change Impacts in Timor-Leste is not only a report—it is a testament to the strength of Timorese women and a call to action to build a more just and inclusive response to the climate crisis.

Read the report here.