Semau Island is a territory located in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara. It takes approximately 30 minutes to travel from Tenau Kupang Port to Kauan Pier in Hansisi Village.

On this island, the CIS Timor Volunteer Association, together with Consortium Partners, carries out various conservation program activities. There are 10 GEF SGP Consortium Assisted Villages in Semau Island, and 4 of them are CIS Timor Assisted Villages located in Semau sub-district.

The two main focuses undertaken by CIS Timor from 2018 to 2020 are:

• Expansion of water catchment areas in the villages of Hansisi, Huilelot, Uiasa, and Batuinan.
• Strengthening institutional networks within the villages.

Here are some activities carried out by CIS Timor in the Semau District, specifically in the villages of Batuinan, Huilelot, Hansisi, and Uiasa:

1. Batuinan Village

The water governance conservation program has been well received by the government of Batuinan Village. In efforts to achieve the program's objectives, CIS Timor collaborates with the village government, community groups, and landowners to collectively agree on the locations of water catchment expansion in the village.

There are several springs in Batuinan Village that the community believes still produce water even during the dry season. Some of these, agreed upon as areas for water catchment expansion, are the Ui Baktoas, Ui Balu, Ui Ut Lui, Ui Dete, and Ui Makas springs. The enthusiastic community helped dig infiltration ditches in the designated areas and succeeded in making 11 infiltration ditches. Therefore, the rainwater that falls on the ground will not directly flow into the sea but will be collected in the infiltration ditches that have been constructed.

The village government, recognizing the importance of water management, has agreed to share the budget with CIS Timor through the Village Budget Allocation (APBDes) to create a Rainwater Harvesting System through Rainwater Harvesting Tanks. This system will be used during the post-rainy season, and the budget allocated for this activity is IDR 114,000,000.

2. Huilelot Village

Huilelot Village has one significant spring called Ui Sili, located in the Katabak hamlet area, which has been designated for the construction of infiltration pits. The Ui Sili spring is the most relied upon by the residents of Katabak Hamlet. The government and enthusiastic villagers, along with CIS Timor, have agreed to create large-scale infiltration pits aimed to retain rainwater longer in the ground. Fortunately, Huilelot Village is one of the villages that has a large forest area, which strengthens CIS Timor's work in ensuring the sustainability of the groundwater ecosystem.

Until now, 54 households around the Katabak Hamlet area have acknowledged receiving direct benefits from the programs conducted by CIS Timor in collaboration with GEF SGP.

3. Hansisi Village

The work in Hansisi Village focusing on sustainable clean water management extends to the water distribution system. This activity is a collaboration between the village government, which allocated IDR 98,000,000 from the 2019 Village Budget Allocation (APBDes) for the provision of clean water facilities, and CIS Timor, which provided a pipeline for water distribution to residents in the Eastern Kobalain Hamlet.

The main task of the Eastern Kobalain residents is to ensure the availability of groundwater by creating infiltration pits and ensuring that reservoirs for water catchment areas are maintained.

Eastern Kobalain Hamlet has 64 households directly impacted by the CIS Timor and GEF SGP Program. To ensure the sustainability of this program, residents initiated collecting a monthly contribution of IDR 15,000 for the operational costs of the existing water distribution system in the area.

4. Uiasa Village

Through the village government, CIS Timor builds trust among the community to ensure the sustainability of the water ecosystem in Uiasa Village.

CIS Timor's main focus in Uiasa Village is to ensure the sustainability of conservation activities by ensuring that these activities can be accommodated in the village's planning and funded by the village itself. In 2019, Uiasa Village disbursed funds Rp 58,000,000 through the Village Budget Allocation (APBDes) to collaborate with CIS Timor in building a Clean Water Distribution System.

Exit Strategy: Sustainable Water Governance on Semau Island

In Phase II of the Water Governance Program on Semau Island, CIS Timor and GEF-SGP together with the villagers of Uiasa and Batuinan focused on the sustainability of post-project water governance which will be led by the villagers.

The two main focuses of CIS Timor in this second phase, conducted from August 2021 to December 2021, are:

• Rehabilitating water sources and expanding water catchment areas through infiltration pits and ditches, directly led by the village community
• Strengthening institutional governance for sustainability through community groups existing in the village.

1. Batuinan Village

The CIS Timor Volunteer Association, together with the village government through community groups, have agreed to collaborate on water conservation efforts by expanding water catchment areas using infiltration ditch methods and preserving the forests in the village area. The community has also agreed to maintain and ensure the sustainability of clean water facilities and infrastructure in the Batuinan area.

In Batuinan Village, CIS Timor together with the villagers have accomplished several concrete works:

• Rehabilitation of 10 water sources owned by villagers, the village, and tribes, with infiltration ditches constructed around them. The aim is to trap rainwater that falls to the ground, preventing it from directly flowing into the sea.
• Collaborative rehabilitation work with villagers on the water distribution, focusing on vulnerable families and families with very distant access to water sources.

2. Uiasa Village

In Uiasa Village, the CIS Timor Volunteer Association, along with the residents of Kulun Hamlet, have formed a group led by the village government to ensure the continuity and sustainability of these positive activities.

In Uiasa Village, Kulun Hamlet, Ui Bua Region, the community has initiated several concrete activities to ensure the sustainability of the existing water ecosystem:

• Expansion of water catchment areas by creating infiltration pits, both on a small scale around residents' homes and on a larger scale around the Ui Bua spring.
• In this village, the community has also undertaken the rehabilitation of 4 water sources located in the Kulun and Ui Bua regions.
• Additionally, there is installation work on pipelines that reach 28 households in the area, establishing 3 points of gravity-fed water distribution systems.

Youtube links are available to access videos of the CIS Timor Water Conservation Program with GEF SGP on Semau Island: