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Govt urged to take steps to save Tesso Nilo
Cleared land: Locals living near the Tesso Nilo National Park in Riau use slash-and-burn methods to clear land, which they later use to plant corn, tuber and other vegetables
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Cleared land: Locals living near the Tesso Nilo National Park in Riau use slash-and-burn methods to clear land, which they later use to plant corn, tuber and other vegetables. (JP/Bambang Muryanto) (JP/Bambang Muryanto)
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span class="inline inline-center">Cleared land: Locals living near the Tesso Nilo National Park in Riau use slash-and-burn methods to clear land, which they later use to plant corn, tuber and other vegetables. (JP/Bambang Muryanto)
The government must take more comprehensive measures to settle land-use conflicts in order to stop the illegal forest clearings that have reached 12,000 hectares (ha) per year, and which threaten the ecosystem in Tesso Nilo National Park in Riau, Sumatra, a senior official has said.
'Without stopping such massive deforestation, the Tesso Nilo National Park will be completely lost within five years,' Edward Rahadian, head of management of the Tesso Nilo National Park's Lubuk Kembang Bunga regional division, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
He said illegal forest clearings posed the main threat to the preservation of Tesso Nilo National Park. Since established as a national park in 2004, Tesso Nilo has seen deforestation accelerate. Total land lost has reached 53,530 (ha). The high rate of deforestation in the 83,000 ha national park has been enabled by the abundance of road access points. Nearby industrial plantations, especially oil palm plantations, have also exacerbated the problem.
Visitors to Tesso Nilo National Park, which has high levels of biodiversity, can watch as local residents openly clear forest to create farmland using the slash-and-burn method.
According to data, there are 218 plant species for every square meter of the park and Tesso Nilo is home to 34 animal species, including protected species such as the Sumatran elephant and the Sumatran tiger.
The killing of animals poses additional threats to the conservation of Tesso Nilo National Park. A number of Sumatran elephants have been found dead, likely killed by locals who consider the endangered species a threat to their farms. (ebf)(++++)
