Welcome to East Timor, one of the world's newest countries, and for the intrepid few, an emerging tourism destination with unspoiled natural beauty.
And I just booked two weeks' holiday here. I went for three or four dives and I think it took us 36 hours to make up our minds that this would, would be where we would hope to spend the rest of our lives. We were absolutely stunned by they, the quality of the marine life here, they, the healthy coral, the, the lack of environmental damage and a huge diversity of marine life.
Hundreds of fish species have been recorded in East Timor's waters, a diversity that's enhanced by having very deep water so close to shore. East Timor is a former war zone and lacks a lot of basic infrastructure. After East Timor's vote for independence in 1999, Indonesian militias rampaged through the island. The subsequent recovery effort has been painfully slow. There are many changes to be made if tourism run by expatriates is to boost East Timor's meager economy. The government is anxious that new tourism developments don't ruin East Timor's greatest asset, its natural beauty.
We are still developing policies and regulations in relation to, say, the environment, for example, environment protection. So what they should do is they should be very careful to talk to government and not to move ahead without government and, and local administration knowing exactly what they're doing until they're getting the full go-ahead.
So, as this new nation struggles to build its economy, it faces an age-old predicament, how to make the most of its natural assets without destroying them in the process.
expatriate: someone who lives in a foreign country
predicament: a difficult or unpleasant situation in which you do not know what to do, or in which you have to make a difficult choice
make the most of: employ to the best advantage