From Birdlife International at:
http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2007/08/timor-leste_np.html
*Timor-Leste declares first national park
*
03-08-2007
After just five years as an independent nation, Timor-Leste (formerly
East Timor) has declared its first national park, a move which will
protect a number of threatened species found nowhere else on Earth.
The declaration has been applauded by BirdLife International, one of a
number of organisations involved in the site designation process.
“This is an incredibly forward-thinking decision, made all the more
spectacular by the fact that this is such a young nation,” said Dr Mike
Rands, BirdLife’s Chief Executive. “We wholeheartedly congratulate the
Timor-Leste government on this declaration, and their commitment to
conservation in line with sustaining the livelihoods and heritage of
local people.”
Timor-Leste became independent in 2002 and despite rich deposits of oil
and gas it remains one of the world's poorest nations.
The newly designated Nino Konis Santana National Park –at over 123,600
hectares- links together three of the island’s sixteen
BirdLife-designated Important Bird Areas: Lore; Monte Paitchau and Lake
Iralalara; and Jaco Island.
“This is great progress by the government and communities of
Timor-Leste. After five years work our first national park is born. It
will help our nation to protect its national heritage, culture and
history,” said Manuel Mendes, Director of the Department of Protected
Areas and National Parks, Timor-Leste. “The national park will protect
globally significant biodiversity and the culture and socioeconomic
livelihoods of communities living there.”
The National Park will also include over 55,600 hectares of the ‘Coral
Triangle’, a marine area with the greatest biodiversity of coral and
reef fish in the world.
The National Park includes 25 bird species restricted to Timor and
neighbouring islands, and also the Critically Endangered Yellow-crested
Cockatoo Cacatua sulphurea, whose populations have been devastated
worldwide by unsustainable exploitation for trade. In addition the Park
is home to the endemic Timor Green-pigeon Treron psittaceus, listed as
Endangered due to loss of monsoon-forest habitat on Timor island.
"We wholeheartedly congratulate the Timor-Leste government on this
declaration," —Dr Mike Rands, BirdLife's Chief Executive
BirdLife has worked with the Timor-Leste government (Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, MAFF) since shortly after the
country's formal independence. Site designation work began with a
programme of biological surveys, resulting in the identification of the
country's Important Bird Areas (IBAs) (soon to be published in book form).
In doing this BirdLife joined forces with the New South Wales
(Australia) Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC), whose
participation allowed the programme to be widened towards establishment
of a new national protected areas network. Additional support to the
programme was provided by Australian Volunteers International. Funding
came from the Australian Government's Regional Natural Heritage
Programme, Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund (Japan), and the UK
Government's Darwin Initiative.
“Now we must plan further and work hard to manage well, not only the
government of Timor-Leste but international partners who want to
collaborate and work with us, help us to build our capacity so that we
can manage for ourselves,” finished Mendes.
The National Park is named in honour of Nino Konis Santana, national
hero and former Commander of FALANTIL (Forças Armadas da Libertação
Nacional de Timor-Leste), the armed wing of the resistance movement in
the struggle for independence who was born in the village of Tutuala
within the National Park.
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