Ten years later, on the run up to Rio+20 Conference, the Government of Timor-Leste through the Ministry of Economy and Development produced a National Report on Sustainable Development in Timor-Leste to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in February 2012. As revealed in the report that the Government of Timor-Leste has undertaken numerous of policies program and activities towards a Sustainable Development model and a green economy, pointed out some lessons learnt and identified gaps and challenges in different development sectors in the state context. Moreover, the state was represented by our former President of RDTL and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, H.E. Dr. Josรฉ Ramos Horta and former Vice-Minister of MoFAC of RDTL, H.E. Mr. Constรขncio Pinto at Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20 to 22 June 2012. The conference resulted in a focused political outcome document which contains clear and practical measures for implementing sustainable development, such as follow;
- Member States decided to launch a process to develop a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will build upon the Millennium Development Goals and converge with the post 2015 development agenda
- adopted ground-breaking guidelines on green economy policies
- decided to establish an intergovernmental process under the General Assembly to prepare options on a strategy for sustainable development financing
- agreed to strengthen the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on several fronts with action to be taken during the 67th session of the General Assembly
- Agreed to establish a high-level political forum for sustainable development. Decisions on its detailed form are expected to be taken during the upcoming session of the General Assembly, with the aim of having the first session of the forum at the beginning of the 68th session of the Assembly
- Requested the United Nations Statistical Commission, in consultation with relevant United Nations system entities and other relevant organizations, to launch a programme of work in the area of measures of progress to complement gross domestic product in order to better inform policy decisions
- Adopted the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production patterns and invited the General Assembly, at its sixty-seventh session, to designate a Member State body to take any necessary steps to fully operationalize the framework
- The Conference also took forward-looking decisions on a number of thematic areas, including energy, food security, oceans, cities, and decided to convene a Third International Conference on SIDS in 2014
- The Rio +20 Conference also galvanized the attention of thousands of representatives of the UN system and major groups. It resulted in over 700 voluntary commitments and witnessed the formation of new partnerships to advance sustainable development.
Timor-Leste, although young and with modest resources has given examples of solidarity. In the past 5 years we have contributed a total of about 10 million dollars in aid to some countries affected by natural disasters such as Cuba, Brazil, China, Portugal, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Myanmar, and to some U.N. specialized agencies.
Our people have shown that we are and will be ready to contribute as much as possible to make the Asian Road Map a reality, through a Fund for Sustainable Development.
Meanwhile, as we have waited with great expectation for a Global Agreement and Plan to come out of Rio +20 or any Regional Agreement and Plan, in Timor-Leste we are already implementing our Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030.
We are determined to achieve all of the Millennium Development Goals and become a high-income country in the next 10-20 years with a per capita income of $10,000.
Since independence in 2002, Timor-Leste has ratified the three Rio Conventions: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
We have produced three strategies and Action Plans in response to these conventions, namely, the National Adaptation Plan of Action for Climate Change (NAPA) approved by the Council of Ministers in 2011, the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) approved by the Council of Ministers in February 2012, and the National Action Plan for Sustainable Land Management (SLM), currently awaiting approval of the Council of Ministers.
We have established a new Directorate to support and strengthen the traditional custom of Tara Bandu to protect and conserve natural resources in order to achieve environmental sustainability, as well as a means to build trust within communities, and resolve conflicts.
A green and sustainable development model, based on peaceful cooperation from the local communities up, enables economically viable growth that works hand in hand with environmental sustainability, protecting the inheritance of future generations.