Nino Konis Santana National Park
Encyclopedia
Nino Konis Santana National Park is East Timor
's first national park
. It was declared on August 3, 2007 and includes over 1,236 square kilometres of land. It links three important bird area
s; Lore, Monte Paitchau and Lake Iralalara, and Jaco Island. The park also includes 556 km² of the Coral Triangle
, an underwater area which supposedly contains the world's greatest diversity of both coral
and coral reef
fish
. Some of the rare birds protected by this park are the critically endangered
Yellow-crested Cockatoo
, the endemic Timor Green-pigeon
, the endangered Timor Imperial-pigeon
, and the vulnerable Timor Sparrow
. The park is named in honor of Nino Konis Santana, a former commander of FALANTIL, the armed forces of the independence movement who was born in Tutuala, a village within the borders of the national park.
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
's first national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
. It was declared on August 3, 2007 and includes over 1,236 square kilometres of land. It links three important bird area
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
s; Lore, Monte Paitchau and Lake Iralalara, and Jaco Island. The park also includes 556 km² of the Coral Triangle
Coral Triangle
The Coral Triangle is a geographical term so named as it refers to a roughly triangular area of the tropical marine waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste that contain at least 500 species of reef-building corals in each ecoregion...
, an underwater area which supposedly contains the world's greatest diversity of both coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
and coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
. Some of the rare birds protected by this park are the critically endangered
Critically endangered
Version 2010.3 of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 3744 Critically Endangered species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and subpopulations.Critically Endangered by kingdom:*1993 Animalia*2 Fungi*1745 Plantae*4 Protista-References:...
Yellow-crested Cockatoo
Yellow-crested Cockatoo
The Yellow-crested Cockatoo, Cacatua sulphurea, also known as the Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, is a medium-sized cockatoo with white plumage, bluish-white bare orbital skin, grey feet, a black bill, and a retractile yellow crest. The sexes are similar...
, the endemic Timor Green-pigeon
Timor Green-pigeon
The Timor Green Pigeon is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.It is found in Indonesia and East Timor.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
, the endangered Timor Imperial-pigeon
Timor Imperial-pigeon
The Timor Imperial Pigeon is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.It is found in Indonesia and East Timor.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes....
, and the vulnerable Timor Sparrow
Timor Sparrow
The Timor Sparrow, Padda fuscata also known as Timor Dusky Sparrow is a small, approximately 14cm long, plump dark brown songbird with a large silvery-blue bill, white cheek, pink feet and creamy-white belly. Both sexes are similar....
. The park is named in honor of Nino Konis Santana, a former commander of FALANTIL, the armed forces of the independence movement who was born in Tutuala, a village within the borders of the national park.