**4. Discussion**

This study provides a baseline for the condition of four outer reef slope communities that are located within ~40 km of the capital Dili, in Timor-Leste. Insights are provided for two key questions posed at the outset of this study. Firstly, coral cover and health was variable and we infer that small-scale fishing and gleaning are influencing reef health at one of the urban sites, and, second, local impacts are a greater immediate threat to Timorese reefs compared to ocean warming for the time being.
