English: On August 5, 2020, NASA’s Aqua satellite flew over the easternmost Lesser Sunda Islands and acquired a true-color image of the long island of Timor. The beautiful, biodiverse island sits in the Malay Archipelago and serves as a divider between the Savu and Timor Seas.

The mountainous island, rich in bird life, agriculture, minerals, and natural gas, is an island divided. The western section of the island, covering about 6,120 square miles (15,850 square km) is administered by Indonesia. The eastern half of the island, covering about 5,641 square miles (14,609 square km) belongs to the independent country of East Timor. East Timor, also called Timor-Leste, includes two small islands as well as the small enclave of Ambeno on the western half of island.

According to the UN Environment Programme Convention on Biodiversity, Timor-Leste is a country positioned in a biodiversity hotspot which harbors globally significant ecosystems and endemic species, both on land and in the sea. It is located in an area known as the Coral Triangle, which supports about 120 million people as well as 76% of the world’s coral species. There have not been recent species counts in the country, but according to the Convention, the last count listed about 983 species. A marine survey in 2008 counted about 1,000 marine megafauna.

Unfortunately for biodiversity, but not surprising with the growth of population and agriculture, forest cover has been estimated to have decreased by about 30% between 1972 and 1999 in East Timor, and remaining primary forest vegetation is estimated at only between 1 and 6%. Coastal mangrove loss has been substantial, with a lost of about 80% of the mangroves between 1940 and 2008. The main drivers of biodiversity loss identified by the Convention include over- exploitation and unsustainable use of natural resources, as well as habitat degradation and fragmentation. Pollution, invasive alien species, and climate change are also contributing factors.

Efforts are being taken to preserve and restore some of the ecosystems and biodiversity. For example, there are 30 protected areas in existence or identified for legislative protection. Sixteen areas have been identified as Important Bird Areas (IBAs), with up to 261 identified bird species listed. Some action plans to combat land degradation are in place while additional plans are in development.