Tono River

The river is one of Timor-Leste's few perennial streams. Its primary headwaters are in the portion of Timor-Leste's central mountains located within the southern ends of Nitibe and Oesilo administrative posts in Oeucusse. In general, the river's tributaries flow from the headwaters in a northeasterly direction, mostly along the border between Oesilo and Pante Macassar administrative posts, until two of the tributaries (the Ekai and Abanel Rivers, respectively) merge near the northwesternmost point of Suco in Oesilo to form the river itself. in a different, northwesterly, direction, Approximately upstream and to the east of the river mouth is the Noefefan Bridge over the river. The bridge connects Citrana, Passabe and other isolated regions west of the river to Oecusse's capital, Pante Macassar, providing them with permanent access to markets, the ferry, and airport, even during the rainy season (November to April). The river's main tributaries, in order of entrance, are as follows: • Bitaklele River: rises as its tributaries the Bao, Matin and Upun Rivers, respectively, in Suco , Nitibe administrative post, where it also has its source convergence; flows generally eastwards, to the tripoint between Nitibe, Oesilo and Pante Macassar administrative posts, where it merges with the Malelai (or Malelui) River (see below) to form the Toko River (see below); • Kinloki River: rises as the Bimilo River near the international frontier between Naimeco, Pante Macassar administrative post, Timor-Leste, and North Central Timor Regency, Indonesia; flows initially southwestwards along that frontier, and then northwestwards along the border between Suco Bobometo, Oesilo administrative post, and Suco Naimeco, to the tripoint between Sucos Bobometo and Naimeco, and Suco Cunha, Pante Macassar administrative post, where it enters the Ekai River (see above); • Abanal River: rises as the Bussi River in Suco Costa, Pante Macassar administrative post, flows generally westwards, mainly as the Abanal River along the border between Sucos and Naimeco, Pante Macassar, to the tripoint between Suco Bobometo, Oesilo administrative post, and Sucos Cunha and Naimeco, Pante Macassar, where it merges with the Ekai River (see above) to form the Tono River. ==History==

Lifau, a short distance northeast of the Tono River mouth, was the first place on the island of Timor to be settled by Europeans. Between 1512 and 1515, Portuguese traders were the first of the Europeans to arrive in the area; they landed near modern Pante Macassar, about to Lifau's east. Only much later was a permanent Portuguese settlement established at Lifau. By the seventeenth century, the Lifau settlement had become the centre of Portuguese activities on Timor, which had extended into the interior of the island. In 1702, Lifau officially became the capital of all Portuguese dependencies in the Lesser Sunda Islands. However, Portuguese control over Lifau's environs, known as Oecusse (which is also the traditional name of Pante Macassar), was tenuous, particularly in the mountainous interior. In 1769, the capital of Portuguese Timor was transferred from Lifau eastwards to Dili, due to frequent attacks from the local Eurasian Topass group. Most of West Timor was left to Dutch forces, who were conquering what is today Indonesia. In the 1780s, a reconciliation took place between the governor in Dili and the Topasses of Oecusse, who henceforth usually supported the Portuguese government. As is the case throughout the Indonesian archipelago, human settlement in Oecusse, including in the Tono River catchment or drainage basin, has traditionally been concentrated in the mountainous interior, rather than near the coast. There are many likely reasons for this tradition: for example, altitude offers relief from coastal heat and much lower rates of malaria infection, and high ground is easier to defend against invaders. In Oecusse, areas of higher altitude also benefit from substantially greater rainfall over a rainy season that can be two months longer than along the coast, and groundwater reserves are more plentiful. Additionally, the channelling of water for small-scale cultivation is relatively simple in mountainous landscapes. Many Oecusse communities were among the last in Timor to have contact with foreigners, as Portuguese colonialism after 1769 was focused on the eastern half of the island. Some mountain villages in Oecusse were not reached by Portuguese missionaries until as recently as the 1950s. However, Oecusse still identifies strongly with the former Portuguese Timor, even though the effect of the Portuguese on the culture of the exclave was shallow. The Indonesians then proceeded to occupy the former colony. During the occupation, Indonesia maintained Oecusse's administrative links to the rest of the former Portuguese Timor, but some of the residents of Oecusse's mountains were forcibly relocated to the low-lying alluvial flood plains along the Tono River, ostensibly to maximise use of cultivable land, but also to facilitate government control over the community. Since then, some of the forcibly relocated members of Oecusse's community have returned to the mountains. Of those who have stayed in the lowlands, many still consider the mountains to be the centre of their family, social and ritual activities. In 2013, the government of Timor-Leste appointed former prime minister Mari Alkatiri to oversee the development of a special economic zone in Oecusse. The following year, the National Parliament of Timor-Leste took a further step towards complying with the government's constitutional obligations towards Oecusse, by enacting a law for the creation of an Authority of the Oecusse Special Administrative Region ( – ARAEO), and for the designation of Oecusse as a Special Zone of Social Market Economy ( – ZEESM). On 23 and 24 January 2015, the central government formally handed over some of its powers to the ARAEO and the ZEESM. Soon after his appointment as the overseer of the special economic zone, Alkatiri started publicising a fully formed plan for Oecusse's development. The plan comprised a substantial number of proposed buildings and capital investments, including a bridge over the Tono River on the coastal road between Pante Macassar and Citrana. ==Catchment==

The catchment of the Tono River is one of the 10 major catchments in the country. Sources vary as to its size. According to one source, the portion located within Timor-Leste is in area, and 20% of the catchment (ie another ) is situated in Indonesia. Another source quantifies the East Timorese portion as being about in area. Timor-Leste has been broadly divided into twelve 'hydrologic units', groupings of climatologically and physiographically similar and adjacent river catchments. The Tono River catchment is one of the two major catchments in the Lifau & Tono Besi hydrologic unit, which is about in total area, and covers 5.5% of the country; the other one is the Noel Besi River catchment. ==Economy==

Agriculture The vast majority of the residents of Oecusse, including the catchment, have always relied on agriculture as their means of support. As of 2016, 78% of the exclave's population was engaged in agriculture. Subsistence farming is overwhelmingly the leading form of agriculture, and the bartering of goods is very common in its traditional markets. Many of the exclave's families are only marginally integrated into the cash economy; such integration has also lessened since 2002, because of a reduction in the spending power of civil servants, and the erection of border restrictions on imports into West Timor. The majority of Oecusse's farmers plant small quantities of a wide range of crops at different times to guard against the possibility of total crop failure. Agricultural or agro-forestry activity in the catchment is made difficult by its dry climate, poor soils and challenging topography, which is generally mountainous with little flat land for large-scale cultivation. The catchment has a long dry season, during which livestock food becomes scarce. The mostly steep topography not only limits arable land, but also causes run-off from heavy rains to remove much of the topsoil. The local people practise rotational cropping to counter the poor soils. However, rotational cropping requires constant clearing of new land, which leads to further environmental degradation, and the use of fertilizers as an alternative to rotational cropping is generally uncommon. ==See also==