Understand
In the past 25 years, approximately 2/3 of the jungle that covered most of the Riau province was destroyed by logging and then converted into tree farms or oil palm plantations. As a response to those who are concerned about the jungle, the park was created in 2004, and its size more than doubled in 2007.
Ongoing threats to the park include illegal logging, illegal conversion of land into oil palm plantations and wild elephant killing by villagers living on the park boundary.
Climate
Tesso Nilo has hot days and nights, like most of the rest of Riau province.
History
In 2004 Indonesia created the park (http://en.wikipedia.org/w...), and more than doubled its size in 2007.
The people of Air Hitam have a history of opposing the park and its purposes. In 2008 people from the village burned a ranger vehicle due to anger at the restrictions placed on their activities by the park. In late November 2010, 5 wild elephants were killed at Air Hitam, despite ongoing education efforts and the work of the Flying Squad elephant patrol.
In late November 2010, a two day major operation involving around 300 police, rangers and military personnel resulted in clearing from the park many of the oil palms recently planted there illegally.
Landscape
Tesso Nilo contains some tropical lowland forest, and it also contains land that was used as production forest and oil palm plantations but that is now being allowed to revert back to jungle.
Flora and fauna
Fauna include the Sumatran tiger, Asian elephant, Malayan tapir, medium-sized primates, deer, large monitor lizards and pigs.
The WWF estimates the tiger population is around 50, while the elephant population is between 60 to 80.
Despite degradation of even the best jungle within the park, its flora displays the highest vascular plant (http://en.wikipedia.org/w...) diversity of anywhere in the world, including the Amazon regions.
Many 200 square meter plots of forest when surveyed yielded more than 200 species each, and more than 4,000 species of plants have already been found within the park. Botanists anticipate that a number of species unknown to science live in the park, as well.