Wildlife In Jaco Is In danger due to Drought

My first time stepping my feet on Jaco Island was back in 2000, island with an area area of 11 square kilometres. Along with some other friends, we went there with an Australian-Timorese guy who had just come back from Australia after our independence. We went there by a brand new speed boat to fishing. We did trolling fishing, the boat slowly moving around the island, and finally stopped on the island to take some rest. Local guards of the island there told us that visitors are not allowed to camp on the island. The island is sacred.  

 

With that message being told, not many people usually do stuff there. Most are disciplined when they visit the island. Go visit, swim, and come back to mainland. When we look into core of the island, forest is untouched, animals come to sight, bird sound is the permanent music. I was quite impressed because the calmness, and its natural.

The island was naturally designated as a protected area because of the sacredness and local value. Few years back, the government started reinforcing the status by incorporating the island into a bigger national park zone called Nino Konis Santana National Park. This is the biggest national park in the country, the biggest lung of the country, and small one of the earth.

However, Jaco is in a dire situation at this moment. Since last week, there have been pictures viral on Facebook showing wildlife suffering to die due to drought. Rainy season is supposed to come in November, but no yet until now. Animal such as deers are in need of water, and of course for food as well. A flock of deers standing close to the beach looking out to the mainland; they wanted to reach the mainland in search of water and food. One video I saw the deers tried to migrate crossing a 700-metre-wide sea from the island. Some could make it, but some could not. The ones remain on the island are now getting slimmer. The worst picture was showing some dead and rotten deer.

I just chatted with one of my junior high school friends who lives close to the island, in Tututala. I asked him about whether he has seen the situation in person. He said he visited the island last week and saw the situation. He told me that his brother took home one  fawn. The bro would like to keep it at home, and will send back to the island after rain comes back. We started to talk about what people have done to help saving lives of animal there.  He said some local have fetched water to the island. But it is not enough at all. He heard that district fire fighter department will bring water to the island in near future. Lets see!

We talked about what the government can do to mitigate such this kind of situation to happen again in the future. To preserve rainwater for wildlife in the island. We talked about building small and scattered reservoirs or big several reservoirs inside the island? This is to keep the water stock for dry season. Or is there any other alternative that you could think of? 

It is necessary for the government, particularly stakeholders in charge of Nino Konis Santana National Park management to take action. Please come down to the island, to safe lives of the animal, and plan something for their future; Jaco Island and its entire live is so previous to us.  

 

**Hope this gives you an inspiration  

New Upgrading for Cristo Rei Park?

 

Recently Cristo Rey (CR) has been a very comfortable place to be at, for jogging, in particular. Things are improved: security for vandalism, street lights, park lights, sidewalks, and tree canopy, the most important component for the place. Even though the hills are almost bare in dry season, the down part does have tree canopy where we can ask for shade to evade from hot sun light. Not only the tree canopy, open huts  as well, necessary.  

In my today's afternoon jogging, I found something new there. Four open huts lined alongside the bottom corridor of CR have been torn down to the ground. For your information, there are no huts anymore for people to use for picnic. I was asking around, with the security guards, whether they know something about prospect of the tearing down. They said the government plans to replace it with new type.  

This is a good news because the old ones looked wearing out, and even the wooden elevated floor was already fragile. It would sink if it was overloaded. I knew because I ever tried by jumping on it, and felt it like that. 

We hope the new type of huts are better than the old ones. It should be even more attractive, to add more of aesthetic value to CR park. By the way, I will put a follow up posting when I see the new ones completed. 

**Hope this gives you an inspiration.    





 

New Jetty New Hope

 

This is another new infrastructure in Dili that can support tourism development, a new ferry jetty. Before tourism, I think there is no body in this country who is happier than people from Oe-cusse and Atauro. Also, tourists both local and foreign will have the same feeling. From now on they have a dedicated facility to depart and arrive at. Their departure from Dili will be a whole lot more comfortable and safer now.

 

The jetty project was financed by Japanese government through a grant aid project. Different from the current old, small, enclosed, and unsafe area, the new jetty has an ample space to wander in. People can see each other off while taking selfie photos as well as do other fun activities. They will no longer be worried of getting hit by a car, or forklift which is busy lifting cargo containers near the ferry ramp. 

It becomes a new node for people who are going out and in of Dili via sea water. They will see this new jetty as a destination and origin before their homes. Since it is a new thing, we hope more people can't wait to experience. The new positive experience is going to be told in folds from mouth to mouth across islands, and countries. The improving image of Dili can start to build up.

 
There is still one shortcoming though. The government needs to construct a terminal building to complete the whole facility. It is necessary to have a functional, comfortable, and if possible, attractive and modern terminal building.

**Hope this gives you an inspiration.