With assistance from Tibor van Staveren and Viriato Seac

This report is the collective effort of La’o Hamutuk’s Natural Resources Team, with assistance from a number of other knowledgeable people. Two technical contributors, Guillermo Franco1 (engineering, risk and environmental impact) and Martin E. Sandbu2 (social and economic development) joined us in Timor-Leste for some of the research and assisted greatly in writing and reviewing the report. From La’o Hamutuk’s staff collective, Guteriano Neves, Charles Scheiner and Santina Soares worked on the entire report, and were joined by Tibor van Staveren and Viriato Seac during editing and finalization. Emma Conlan, formerly with Oxfam Australia in Timor-Leste, assisted with the executive summary and final edits. Although this report is the accumulation of the contributions, expertise and research of each of the authors and contributors, responsibility for its contents, conclusions and recommendations rests with La’o Hamutuk. La’o Hamutuk (Walking Together in English), also known as the Timor-Leste Institute for Reconstruction Monitoring and Analysis, is a seven-year-old Timor-Leste non-governmental organization that monitors, analyzes and reports on the principal international institutions present in Timor-Leste as they relate to the physical, economic, and social reconstruction and development of the country. La’o Hamutuk believes that the people of Timor-Leste must be the ultimate decision-makers in this process and that this process should be democratic and transparent. La’o Hamutuk is an independent organization and works to facilitate effectiv