Shortly: Timor and its environmental problems

Timor, thanks to its agricultural economy and the inexistence of large population centers still does not suffer from the problems of industrialization. It will nevertheless suffer from global climate changes, on which there are already some studies and a conference was held in Timor.

Nevertheless, Timor has other environmental problems that can affect its future. Soil erosion, caused by both high rainfall (it rains more than 1750 mm on 65% of the island) and by the great slope of the mountain areas can be very serious. Itinerant agriculture, deforestation and the subsequent loss of vegetable cover can have consequences that are difficult to invert and they will cause a reduction in crop production.

On the other hand, excessive number of animals, specially goats, and the erosion caused by their paths and the fires can be seen as other causes of the progressive soil loss.

The increase in population can also cause the loss of biodiversity, which is first seen in the larger animals that progressively loose their natural habitats.

On the positive side we can underline the fact that almost all of the farmers never use agrochemicals, which means that the farm produce can almost all be classified as organically grown

ZDROJ: Ministerstvo zemědělství, lesnictví a rybolovu Východního Timoru