EGB100 Engineering: Integrated Climate Resilience System Study Report

This report details a scoping study on an integrated climate resilience system for Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Australia, focusing on Suco Holarua in Timor-Leste. The study addresses climatic hazards such as cyclones, floods, landslides, and droughts. Proposed mitigation strategies include irrig...Read More

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A STUDY REPORT ON INTEGRATED CLIMATE RESILIENCE SYSTEM
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INTRODUCTION
The client for the study was the Engineers Without Borders (EWB), Australia. The
location of the study was Suco Holarua, in the Manufahi District of Timor-Leste. The main
element of research was the implementation of a stable framework to curb the drastic climatic
changes experienced within the state. The climatic hazards in this state included tropical
cyclones, floods, and landslides together with droughts in the North of the country Ramke, Du
Toit, Palagyi, Brian and Naduvilath (2007, p. 880-886). Temperatures were found to be high
varying with different seasons. The annual average temperature range was 240-380celsius at sea
level. However, this temperature range was seen to decline as altitude rose in the rugged
mountains in most parts, Tatamailau being the highest with 2963meters. There are few

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permanent rivers with narrow coastal plains and no main highland areas. The drought has been
attributed to El Nino events where precipitations increase from the north to south. As a result, the
south benefits from downpours from South East and Indonesian monsoon winds. From the
issues, our mitigation engineering design encompasses various integrated methods that hamper
impacts from the specific cause of climate change.
Due to unpredictable climate changes, implementation of standard irrigation system
serves to reduce effects of drought in parts of the country. Underground water pipes are fitted
and water harnessed from the ocean through the pipes. This can be done using generators to
boost the pressure of water flowing in the pipes and hence improve the crop yields aside boosting
food security issues within the state. This design comes with reduced leakages thus strengthening
the water management system hence counteracting the reductions in the overall amount of water
due to climate changes Smith, Brown, and Cahill (2009, p.650).
Also, the project focused on the construction of stable newly concrete enforced structure
to protect the effects of floods and landslides. A well-functioning bridge is installed in rivers
together with water diverters that switch the direction of water floods. The method also
comprises of building stable gabion baskets along the slopes and planting of bio-engineered
vetiver grass to prevent soil erosions. Mills et.al (2013).This technique facilitates stabilization of
the slopes hence little or no occurrence of landslides Johnston, Caswell and Armitage (2007,
p.501-506).
RESEARCH FINDINGS

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Poverty in this country was found out to be the source of environmental degradation thus
increasing the vulnerability to climate change. 10% of the state population comprises of IDPs
who flew for safety after previous conflicts that had a great impact of the countries infrastructure
Hiwasaki Luna and Shaw (2014, p.15-27) However, some communities currently experience
conflicts making it hard to implement measures that reduce poverty. Climate changes resulted
from the old traditional agricultural system, carbon dioxide emissions, massive deforestation in
parts of the country as well as poverty that makes it hard for implementation of new programme
Helgesson (2006, p. 32-35).
Also, specific data based on trends of climate and its hazards in the city was soo scarce
due to a lack of meteorological observations and information during the period of Indonesian
rule. This issue hence made it difficult to predict future climate occurrences. Farmers argued that
the climate shift was unfit for the traditional planting cycles. Communities that inhabited areas
around mountains reported an increase in temperature over a period of time. Findings showcased
the occurrence of high-intensity rainfall during the wet season and more dry trends leading to
famine. This important issue raises the need for a well-functioning climatic resilience system.
The challenges faced in an effort to boost climatic resilience included:
 Less capacity of staff in the analysis of the environmental issues within the
sectors of development activities.
 Financial constraints when it came to supporting global Advisors,
provision of office equipment and facilities and staff training.
 The environmental protection is least prioritized with agriculture,
education, development, and health being high profile priorities.

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 Weak environmental law enforcement implementation adding up to poor
resilience steps.
PROFESSIONAL CONNECTIONS
Professional skills development (PSD)
This team served to support individuals in developing their skills professionally in
humanitarian engineering. The individuals should demonstrate their skills in leadership and have
a strong passion to contribute to the overall productivity of the community. Their recipients were
Apolonia Asteria Barreto and Francisco Guterres dos Reis from Water Aid and PLAN
international respectively Cook Hemmati and Siller (2015).
National Centre for Employment and Professional Training (CNEFP),
This firm offered professional and vocational training to Timorese people to be able to
gain employment opportunities in different sectors. It worked in close association with The
Secretariat of State for Professional Training and Employment (SSPTE), a committed central
body of the government, which ensures proper coordination, design, evaluation and
implementation of policies in the area. The purpose of this is to esnure inidviduals have updated
knowledge regarding their fields of work Bourn (2018, p.201-219)

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References
Helgesson, C.I., 2006. Engineers Without Borders and their role in humanitarian relief. IEEE
Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine, 25(3), pp.32-35.
Johnston, C.R., Caswell, D.J. and Armitage, G.M., 2007. Developing environmental awareness
in engineers through Engineers Without Borders and sustainable design
projects. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 64(4), pp.501-506.
Bourn, D., 2018. The global engineer. Understanding Global Skills for 21st Century
Professions (pp. 201-219). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Smith, J., Brown, L., and Cahill, A., 2009. Engineering social change: Engaging undergraduate
engineers in community development research. In 20th Annual Conference for the
Australasian Association for Engineering Education, 6-9 December 2009: Engineering
the Curriculum (p. 650). Engineers Australia.
Ramke, J., Du Toit, R., Palagyi, A., Brian, G. and Naduvilath, T., 2007. Correction of refractive
error and presbyopia in Timor-Leste. British Journal of Ophthalmology, 91(7), pp.860-
866.
Hiwasaki, L., Luna, E. and Shaw, R., 2014. Process for integrating local and indigenous
knowledge with science for hydro-meteorological disaster risk reduction and climate
change adaptation in coastal and small island communities. International journal of
disaster risk reduction, 10, pp.15-27.

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Mills, D.J., Abernethy, K.A., King, J., Hoddy, E.T., Teoh, S.J., Larocca, P., Gonsalves, D.,
Fernandes, A. and Park, S.E., 2013. Developing Timor-Leste’s coastal economy:
assessing potential climate change impacts and adaptation options. Final report to the
Australian Government Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food
Security National Initiative. WorldFish, Penang, Malaysia.
Cook, A., Hemmati, M. and Siller, T.,(2015) The EWB Challenge–Preparing Engineers to Work
Globally Through International Development Design Projects.