Regions and Countries

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p. 10 of 18 BACK | NEXT I. Country Performance Assessment II. Country Operational Strategy III. Sector Strategies A. Agriculture and Rural Development B. Infrastructure C. Social Infrastructure and Environment D. Governance Dimensions of ADB Operations E. Gender Dimensions of ADB Operations F. Private Sector Development IV. Regional Cooperation V. Donor Activities and Aid Coordination VI. Cofinancing and Catalyzing External Resources VII. ADB’s Operational Program VIII. Economic and Sector Work Program

Country Assistance Plans - East Timor : III. Sector Strategies

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C. Social Infrastructure and Environment

1. Community Empowerment

35. The JAM found that virtually the entire pre-independence government structure in East Timor has disappeared from every level. The operation of all technical sectors has ceased and the loss of physical infrastructure has been extensive. There is a need to mobilize community resources for much of the reconstruction work, at all levels to fill the institutional vacuum. The objective of assistance for community empowerment is therefore to strengthen the capacity of subdistricts and villages to plan and implement their development decisions, including through support for the reconstruction of basic infrastructure, introduction of simple microcredit principles, and cultural activities conducive to community recovery and reconciliation.

36. ADB mobilized an advisory TA in February 2000 to finance initial works in support for a $20 million Community Empowerment Program that is to be financed through TFET and managed by the World Bank. In addition, ADB has developed a complementary microfinance project which will support the establishment of an appropriate microfinance system for the medium-term in East Timor.

2. Environment

37. At present, the capacity to review, evaluate and monitor the environmental impact of projects or mitigating measures is limited in East Timor. Until UNTAET is able to develop a regulatory framework appropriate for East Timor, environmental laws that were in place prior to East Timor’s separation from Indonesia remain in place. There is a need to review the applicability of these laws, regulations and standards to East Timor’s social, legal and institutional context. Given its key role in the infrastructure sectors, a technical assistance was approved in 2000 to develop the institutional and human resource capacity to address environmental and resource management issues in these sectors.

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