Efforts to restore the ecological integrity of Tesso Nilo National Park on the island of Sumatra have entered a decisive phase as Indonesian authorities continue relocating residents and dismantling illegal plantations within the protected forest.
According to an article by Mongabay, officials say the controversial policy is intended to reverse decades of deforestation inside one of the country’s most environmentally significant national parks, while also establishing a template for conservation recovery across other protected areas.
“This activity will serve as a model for other locations in restoring national parks,” Indonesian Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said in a statement.
Tesso Nilo National Park represents one of the last remaining lowland forest habitats for the critically endangered Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatrensis) and Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), alongside thousands of plant species.
Despite receiving top-level protection after its establishment in 2004 and expansion in 2009 to cover 81,793 hectares, the park has experienced dramatic forest loss.
Satellite monitoring shows that 78% of its old-growth forest disappeared between 2009 and the end of 2023, underscoring long-standing challenges including migration, weak enforcement, corruption, and organized criminal activity linked to plantation expansion.
To address the crisis, the government last year announced a policy aimed at removing smallholder oil palm cultivation from within the park.
The initiative coincides with a nationwide crackdown on illegal plantations ordered by President Prabowo Subianto, with a military-led task force tasked with reclaiming forest land.
Although residents were initially given three months to leave following plantation clearances, the timeline was extended after concerns from Indonesia’s National Commission on Human Rights.
Authorities say enforcement actions inside the park have included the seizure of illegal palm plantations, the dismantling of worker encampments, and the closure of access routes used for agricultural expansion.
“These steps are reasserting state control over conservation areas that were converted into illegal oil palm plantations a long time ago,” a forestry ministry spokesperson said in November.
The relocation program has generated debate, including protests and scrutiny from lawmakers and civil society organizations concerned about livelihoods and cultural impacts.
“Relocating residents could sacrifice the economy, history, social, cultural, religious and even Indigenous customs of the communities,” Sugiat Santoso, deputy chair of a parliamentary commission overseeing human rights, said last year.
Several villages inside the park have already seen families relocate, including residents from Pangkalan Gondai, Pesikaian, and Baturijal Barat, while more than 200 families from Bagan Limau moved after supporting restoration plans.
“We are committed to supporting efforts to restore the function and ecosystem of the [Tesso Nilo] forest area through the relocation of community land,” said Syafirudin, the elected village head of Bagan Limau.
Human rights groups and conservation advocates stress that the long-term success of the policy depends on providing viable alternative land and stable livelihoods.
“We agree that Tesso Nilo must recover,” said Riko Kurniawan, founder of civil society organization Paradigma. “But the formula should be clear,” Riko added. “To build first, and then to relocate.”
The park’s ecological decline has contributed to escalating human-wildlife conflict, with elephant encounters increasing sharply in recent years and only around 60 elephants estimated to remain in the landscape.
Officials have framed restoration efforts as essential to protecting Domang, an elephant calf born in 2021 that has become a symbol of conservation within the park.
“For us, Domang is more than just a viral figure on social media,” the forestry ministry’s director of law enforcement, Dwi Januanto Nugroho, said in a statement published in November.
“He is a symbol of a new generation of Sumatran elephants who have a right to a safe, intact home free from illegal plantations.”
Concerns remain among advocacy groups about whether relocation may simply transfer pressures to other areas or leave communities without secure land rights.
“Will residents receive legal certainty and full ownership rights to the replacement land? Or will they simply become farmers on land that is owned by [palm oil] companies, creating new dependencies?” Achmad Surambo, director of Sawit Watch, said.
Authorities insist the objective is ecological recovery and stronger protection of the national park rather than punishment of residents.
“We’re resolving this through dialogue, humanism and persuasion,” said Dodi Triwinarto, the general leading the forestry task force. “We’re prioritizing taking this approach so that everything goes smoothly.”
Officials added that enforcement is intended to dismantle destructive plantation networks and restore the forest ecosystem.
“Law enforcement in Tesso Nilo is aimed at restoring this national park as a home for Domang and other elephants, not as a palm oil plantation,” Dwi from the forestry ministry said in a statement.
“Our enforcement operations in Tesso Nilo are designed to break the chain of business that destroys the area. Not to victimize citizens.”
The ongoing restoration of Tesso Nilo National Park highlights the importance of protecting intact natural landscapes that support wildlife viewing, trekking, and conservation-based outdoor recreation experiences.