A/HRC/42/37/Add.2 52. The country is extremely rich in terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Almost half of the land area of Timor-Leste is forest. 19 The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has estimated that approximately 65 per cent of the forestland is owned or managed by communities.20 Between 70 and 80 per cent of the population lives in rural areas and are heavily reliant on subsistence agriculture and the ecosystem. 21 53. However, the country is facing environmental concerns which, if not addressed, could result in environmental damage and loss of livelihood and culture. The destruction of natural resources during the Indonesian occupation has contributed to the environmental problems that the country is now experiencing. Deforestation during the occupation resulted in the loss of about 30 per cent of the forest coverage. Timor-Leste is now facing amplified impacts of climate change, including the degradation of soil and freshwater resources. 22 The Special Rapporteur was informed about several government schemes to plant trees throughout the country, and in this regard notes the importance of the use of native species in these efforts in order to protect the environment in a sustainable manner and reduce soil erosion. 54. Empirical evidence has proven that indigenous peoples’ traditional management of resources has been effective in keeping territories resilient to climate change and has protected parts of their territories from unmitigated devastation. Traditional knowledge of resource management is now being promoted internationally as a means to combat and mitigate the impacts of climate change and prevent environmental disasters (A/HRC/36/46). 55. The Special Rapporteur notes the positive step taken by the Government in the Strategic Development Plan 2011–2030, in which it acknowledges the importance of strengthening the bond of the Timorese with nature in order to ensure sustainable management of the environment and natural resources for the next generation. 23 The decision of the Government in 2015 to make the teaching of permaculture a compulsory subject in the primary school curriculum is an excellent example of this recognition. During the visit, the Special Rapporteur witnessed inspiring initiatives undertaken in schools to educate children hands-on about plants and conservation. 56. The Special Rapporteur notes the Government’s creation of over 40 protected areas and the adoption by the Department of Protected Areas and National Parks of the Strategic Action Plan (2011), which is designed to ensure the active participation of local communities and the use of their traditional knowledge in the management of protected areas.24 57. Among the customary practices being revitalized since independence is tara bandu, traditional rules that govern the relationship between people but that also regulate the relationship between people and the environment and animals. Tara bandu is rooted in the cultural and customary beliefs of the Timorese, whose lives are deeply interlinked with their lands, environment and resources and which they consider sacred (lulik) and an obligation to protect for the next generation. Tara bandu is developed and enforced collectively at the local community level under the leadership of traditional authorities. 25 It 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 10 Timor-Leste forest information and data available at https://rainforests.mongabay.com/deforestation/2000/Timor-Leste.htm. 2010 census. For further information on conservation agriculture and use of forestland in Timor-Leste, see www.fao.org. See http://gov.east-timor.org/MAFF/. Timor-Leste’s Fifth National Report to the Convention on Biodiversity 2015. Timor-Leste Strategic Development Plan 2011–2030, pp. 54 and 220. P. Pinto, “The functions of local knowledge in the management of protected areas and national parks”, in Local Knowledge of Timor Leste!, D. do Amaral de Carvalho, ed. (Jakarta, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2011), pp. 35–38. N. Miyazawa, “Customary law and community-based natural resource management in post-conflict Timor-Leste”, in J. Unruh and R.C. Williams, eds., Land and Post-Conflict Peace-Building (Earthscan, 2013); Belun and Asia Foundation, Tara Bandu, p. 14; and do Amaral de Carvalho, “Tara bandu as traditional (local) ecological knowledge”, in Local Knowledge of Timor Leste!, pp. 52–67.