JAKARTA, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government has intensified the restoration of 40,000 hectares of land, which is part of a national park in Riau Province, following degradation caused by illegal human activities, a senior official said.

Efforts to restore the condition of Tesso Nilo National Park, which covers 81,739 hectares, were being made by the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry and the Garuda Task Force for forest recovery, which was set up by the government, according to a statement by the ministry on Friday.

According to the task force, the current condition of the national park is very concerning, as the area has suffered degradation over the past 20 years due to the presence of illegal immigrant communities. The elephant population in the park has continued to decline, the statement noted.

Around 40,000 hectares of the park have been cleared and illegally planted with palm oil.

The government aimed to restore the degraded forest area through a labor-intensive rehabilitation scheme, ecosystem restoration, and comprehensive law enforcement, said Dwi Januanto Nugroho, director general of law enforcement at the Ministry of Forestry.

"Tesso Nilo National Park is a strategic target of President Prabowo Subianto for the forest restoration program," he said in the statement.

"We are supported by all elements in rehabilitating forest areas through a comprehensive and humanist approach," the official added.

The rehabilitation of Tesso Nilo National Park is part of the government's broader strategy to restore 3.7 million hectares of forest areas that are currently not being managed in accordance with their designated function. ■