Carvalho, D.A. and PALMER, L. 2012. Engaging Communities in Resource Development Initiatives in Timor Leste. In Langton M. and Longbottom, J. (eds) 'Community Futures, Legal Architecture', Routledge, London, pp. 251-268.

In light of Timor-Leste's turbulent history and present-day circumstances, this paper explores the manner in which Timorese communities have been able to engage in the resource development process since the country achieved independence in 2002. We examine a proposed large-scale resource development scheme in the district of Lautem in the country's far east to establish, in a place-based context, the complex relationship between incoming tropes of modernity and extant customary knowledge and resource use. In light of these complexities, we argue for more holistic and effective consultation processes, as well as procedural consistency, in relation to the socio-ecological assessment of large projects in Timor-Leste.