Bukit Duabelas, which means "The Twelve Hills," is a not very large national park in Sumatra, Indonesia. It covers an area of 605 square kilometers and is an example of lowland tropical rainforests in Jambi province. Only the northern part of the park has primary rainforest, while the rest is secondary forest because of logging that happened before. The park is home to the native Orang Rimba people.

Geography

The national park is named after the hills in the area, which include Punai (164 meters), Panggang (328 meters), and Kuran (438 meters). This area is an important place for collecting water for the Batang Hari watershed.

Flora and fauna

In the park, there are 120 types of plants. These include Eusideroxylon zwageri, which are rare trees used for making wood; Koompassia excelsa trees that can grow more than 80 meters tall; Dyera costulata trees with trunks as wide as 2 meters; and rattan palms.

The park also protects several endangered animals. These include the siamang, clouded leopard, Java mouse-deer, sun bear, Sumatran muntjac, leopard cat, hairy-nosed otter, dhole, Sumatran striped rabbit, and crested serpent eagle.

Human habitation

The park is home to the nomadic Orang Rimba, who move from place to place. About 40% of the Orang Rimba population (approximately 1,200 people) live in Bukit Duabelas National Park. Another 15% live in the nearby Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, and the rest live in different parts of Jambi province. Helping them continue their traditional ways of growing food, hunting, and collecting items is important for protecting the forest within the national park.

Conservation and threats

Before becoming a national park in 2000, a large part of the area was used as a logging area, which caused many original forests to be destroyed.

The national park is at risk from deforestation, and by 2012, 70% of the forest had been damaged.