Tesso Nilo National Park is a national park in Riau Provincl[]\e, Sumatra,

Indonesia. It was declared a national park by the Indonesian government in

2004.[1] The original area of the park was 385.76 km, but the decision has been
made to expand it to 1000 km.[2] Tesso Nilo National Park houses some of the
largest coherent lowland rainforests remaining on Sumatra. The Center for
Biodiversity Management has surveyed over 1,800 plots in tropical forests
around the world. They found that no other plot has as many vascular plants as
in Tesso Nilo. Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) surveyed forests throughout
Sumatra, and also found that Tesso Nilo housed by far the most species.

1. A Critically Endangered (CR) species is one which has been categorized by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as facing a very high risk of
extinction in the wild.[1] It is the highest risk category assigned by the IUCN Red List
for wild species.
As of 2014, there are 2464 animals and 2104 plants with this assessment, compared with
1998 levels of 854 and 909, respectively.[2]
As the Red List does not consider a species extinct until extensive, targeted surveys have
been conducted, species which are possibly extinct are still listed as critically endangered.
IUCN maintains a list[3] of "possibly extinct" CR(PE) and "possibly extinct in the wild"
CR(PEW) species, modelled on categories used by BirdLife International to categorize these
taxa.

2. The Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) is one of three

recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant, and native to the Indonesia
island of Sumatra. In 2011, the Sumatran elephant has been classified as
critically endangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at least
80% over the last three generations, estimated to be about 75 years. The
subspecies is pre-eminently threatened by habitat loss, degradation and
fragmentation, and poaching; over 69% of potential elephant habitat has
been lost within the last 25 years. Much of the remaining forest cover is in
blocks smaller than 250 km2 (97 sq mi), which are too small to contain
viable elephant populations.[1]

3. The Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) is a rare tiger subspecies that inhabits
the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the
IUCN Red List in 2008 as the population was estimated at 441 to 679 individuals,

with no subpopulation larger than 50 individuals and a declining trend.[1] The

Sumatran tiger is the only surviving member of the Sunda Islands group of tigers that
included the now extinct Bali tiger and Javan tiger.[2] Sequences from complete
mitochondrial genes of 34 tigers support the hypothesis that Sumatran tigers are
diagnostically distinct from mainland populations.[3]

Conservation and threats

The park suffers heavy encroachment from illegal loggers and illegal settlers who clear the
park for crops and palm oil plantations, as well as village sites. Already, 28,600 hectares, or
about a third of the park, has been deforested.[citation needed] In November 2009, WWF announced
that the park had finally been expanded by 44,492 hectares [3] but encroachment still remains
a serious problem.
According to a WWF report published in June 2013, oil palm plantations cover 36,353 ha of
the Tesso Nilo forest complex, with two business groups (Asian Agri and Wilmar Groups)
being involved in the trade of the oil palm fruit illegally grown inside the national park.
Furthermore, 50 mills operating around the Tesso Nilo forest complex were identified. [4]
During drought periods, the forest is susceptible to wildfires. In the October 2006 fires, 1 km
of the park was burnt.[5] According to 2009 WWF survey, the population of Sumatran
elephants had reached 200 in the park, and around 350 elephant in Riau Province.[6]
Elephant Conservation Centre

The Belgian government committed to provide 200,000 euros in assistance for the
construction of a Sumatran elephant conservation centre in the Tesso Nilo National Park, with
the first quarter to be disbursed in 2011. The project will fund the relocation of dozens of
tame elephants from Minas in Siak district, to Tesso Nilo. The relocation was justified by the
loss of habitat in Minas due to oil palm plantations and oil mining.[7]
In 2012, the elephant population in the park is estimated 120 to 150 elephants through
samples of elephant dropping. For three months, starting late of June, Deoxyribonucleic acid
(DNA) of elephants's faeces are being conducted to get the actual number of elephants.[8]