Timor-Leste Journal of Engineering and Science

The Rainfall Erosion Rate Analysis and Conservation Plan in the Catchment Area of Hera, Dili, Timor-Leste

Aderita Takeleb — 2025-12-27

This study aims to assess the level of land erosion due to rainfall and analyze conservation efforts in the Hera area, Dili, Timor-Leste, using a combination of USLE models, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and field surveys. The total area is around 14 hectares and the landscape area has surrounding by mountain in the south part. Based on the Topography survey, the slope area is ranging from 2-40%. The results showed that the application of vegetation can reduce the erosion rate by up to 90%, which has a positive impact on soil fertility, water quality, and infrastructure protection. However, the long-term effectiveness of this method can be affected by variations in soil conditions, climate, and socio-economic constraints. This study underlines the importance of further studies to identify optimal vegetation types, evaluate long-term impacts, and consider integration with other conservation methods and climate change scenarios. Adaptive and sustainable conservation strategies are needed to reduce erosion and support environmental sustainability in the catchment area of Hera

The Comparative Performance Analysis of Naca 6409 9% and Naca 0012 Airfoils on Savonius Hydrokinetic Turbine Based on Computational Fluid Dynamics

Natalino Fonseca Da Silva Guterres — 2025-12-27

This study investigates the potential of river water energy in Magelang District as an alternative source of electricity. The research method includes measuring the river’s width, depth, and flow velocity, followed by calculating the discharge. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were used to evaluate the performance of a Savonius turbine with NACA 6409 9% and NACA 0012 blades. The novelty of this research lies in optimizing Savonius turbine efficiency by assessing the influence of different blade geometries on turbine performance in river applications. Simulation results show that blade geometry significantly affects water flow dynamics, causing velocity spikes at the blade tips and varying pressure distributions between the two profiles. Furthermore, the study highlights substantial turbulence downstream of the turbine. These findings provide critical insights for enhancing Savonius turbine design, improving river water energy utilization, and offering practical solutions for renewable power generation in Magelang District

Blockchain-Based IoT Ecosystems: Design and Analysis of Incentive Mechanisms for Sustainable Participation

Jayashree R — 2026-01-16

Paradigms for decentralized, trustless data exchange and autonomous device collaboration are created by merging Blockchain (BC) and the Internet of Things (IoT). Limited resources and energy constraints are the factors for major challenges in achieving sustained participation of IoT devices in such decentralized networks. In this paper, we study incentive archetypes with IoT node participation in blockchain ecosystems. We emphasize the scalability, energy efficiency, and security implications along with token-based rewards, reputation systems, and hybrid incentive structures in this research work. Additionally, we propose an incentive framework integrated with an economic model for addressing challenges related to sybil resistance and incentive manipulation, known as Hybrid Sustainable Incentive Framework (HSIF). These challenges are analyzed with energy-based reward distribution using lightweight consensus and adaptive tokenomics, which assure sustainability and efficient IoT participations. The main goal of this paper is to provide a roadmap for incentive design with IoT in decentralized blockchain networks.

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in Rural Development of Timor-Leste: An Opportunity for Strategic Integration

Vanja Kenjić — 2026-01-16

Timor-Leste’s rural development sectors face significant challenges, particularly those related to climate change. Many rural households depend heavily on agriculture and fisheries for their livelihoods, making them especially vulnerable to environmental disruptions. In response, stakeholders have begun promoting nature-based solutions (NbS) to enhance community resilience by delivering both social and economic benefits. NbS practices such as agroforestry, mangrove restoration, sustainable land management, and watershed protection offer practical approaches to improve livelihoods while strengthening ecosystems. For example, agroforestry can diversify income sources and improve soil health, while mangrove restoration protects coastal communities from storm surges and supports fisheries. From a rural tourism perspective, NbS can also include eco-tourism initiatives that promote conservation and generate income, such as community-led forest trails, birdwatching tours in protected areas, and restoration of cultural landscapes that attract visitors. These approaches foster environmental stewardship while supporting local economies. Despite their potential, NbS are not yet fully integrated into sector-specific strategies and plans. This gap limits institutionalization and reduces opportunities for collaboration among key actors. Achieving sustainable rural development in Timor-Leste requires the formulation and implementation of coherent strategies and action plans that address climate change and natural disasters. This paper explores the strategic opportunity to embed NbS into Timor-Leste’s sectoral policies and plans. Through a literature review, it offers recommendations for mainstreaming NbS and identifies development finance and climate funding mechanisms that Timor-Leste could leverage to support the adoption and implementation of NbS in rural development.

A Text Mining and Topic Modeling Approach to Analyzing Research Trends in Timor-Leste

Edio da Costa — 2026-03-21

Identifying national research trends is crucial for supporting academic development and evidence-based policymaking. In Timor-Leste, however, systematic and data-driven analyses of research outputs remain limited. This study applies text mining and topic modeling techniques to examine dominant research themes and emerging trends within Timor-Leste’s academic landscape. A corpus of academic publications and institutional research documents was collected and preprocessed using standard natural language processing methods, including case folding, tokenization, stop-word removal, and lemmatization. Topic modeling in this study was conducted using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) algorithm, with five core topics specified to identify emerging thematic clusters during the 2021–2025 period. The result findings reveal several major research clusters, such as Education & Human Capital Development, Public Health and Social Wellbeing, Governance & Public Policy, Agriculture & Rural Development, and Digital Technology Innovation as well as their relative prominence. In addition, the analysis highlights underrepresented research areas that offer opportunities for future investigation