Tasitolu

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Protected area in Timor-Leste

title: "Tasitolu" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["protected-areas-of-timor-leste", "important-bird-areas-of-timor-leste", "wetlands-of-east-timor", "populated-places-in-timor-leste", "dili-municipality"] description: "Protected area in Timor-Leste" topic_path: "general/protected-areas-of-timor-leste" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasitolu" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Protected area in Timor-Leste ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox protected area"]

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| name = {{ubl|Tasitolu |{{Smalldiv|{{native name list |tag1=pt |name1=Tasitolu |tag2=tet |name2=Tasitolu / Tasi tolu}}}}}} | photo = {{CSS image crop |Image = Tasitolu,_Dili,East_Timor(310333712).jpg |bSize = 284 |cWidth = 284 |cHeight = 160 |oTop = 53 |oLeft = 0 |Location = center | photo_alt = | photo_caption = | location = / , Dom Aleixo, Timor-Leste | nearest_city = Dili | coordinates = | map = Timor-Leste | relief = 1 | length_km = | named_for = | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | governing_body =

Tasitolu (, or Tasi tolu, ) is a protected area on the coast of Timor-Leste, 8 km west of the capital Dili. The Tasitolu wetlands include three saline lakes, an esplanade, and a beach; it has been designated a Wetland of National Significance. Tasitolu Peace Park was designated in 2002 because of its cultural and historical importance. The Tasitolu Important Bird Area accommodates several near-threatened species. A 2004 reforestation project, which included community member participation, was funded by the national government. Subsequent to the 2006 East Timorese crisis, several hundred people sought refuge at Tasitolu's tent camp, established by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. INTERFET, an Australian-led international military Peace Keeping Force governed by the United Nations, has established a base at Tasitolu.

Geography

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Tasitolu,_Dili,East_Timor(310331891).jpg" caption="Lakeshore"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Map_of_Tasitolu.png"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Red_Tasitolu_1.JPG" caption="Red coloration, 2006."] ::

Tasitolu lies in the west of the Comoro Suco, in the Dom Aleixo subdistrict. It is part of the Dili District, which is the smallest of Timor-Leste's thirteen districts, while being the most heavily populated, and the economic and political center of the country. Situated on the northern coast of Timor island, which is the easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, Tasitolu is on the Wetar Strait/Strait of WetarSavu Sea. It is accessed by the Dili-Kupang Road. Tasitolu Bus Station is located 500 m to the north of the easternmost lake, and another transportation hub, the Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport, is 1500 m away.

Lying at an altitude of 0 - above sea level, the 700 ha protected area (whole area: 1,540 ha) consists of three permanent, shallow, saline lakes, and wetland surrounds. In some years, the water of the lakes turns red, probably due to red algae. There are also headwater ridges and a beach. The beach area has several dive sites which are developed for tourists. Reef visibility is excellent, there are no currents, and the sandy bank slopes gradually. A narrow, saline esplanade is situated between the mountain and sea. Tasitolu, Areia Branca, Hera, Metinaro, and Tibar are part of a coastal wetlands network of extensive mudflat and mangrove habitats.

History

Some people believe that the lake water turns red because many victims of the invaders during the Indonesian occupation (1975–1999) are buried here. The fact that the last colorations occurred in the years 1975, 1999 and 2006, all years when Timor-Leste had to cope with violent events (the Civil War and the Indonesian invasion in 1975, the crisis in 1999, and the unrest in 2006), also leads to superstition regarding the coloration. Tasitolu was at one time a popular meeting place for the ABRI; and subsequent to the 1975 invasion, many Maubere people were killed here, some through death flights.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Kirche_Tasitolu.jpg" caption="Church of Tasitolu"] ::

Approximately 400 m from the central lake, a traditional house was built in preparation for the 1989 visit of Pope John Paul II. He arrived in October, addressing a crowd at the "Tasitolu Altar", and spoke the local Tetum language, as well as English. Subsequent to his death, a 6 m high monument dedicated to the Pope was erected in 2008; it stands on a hill on the west side of the Bay of Dili, across from a statue of Jesus Christ in Cristo Rei subdistrict on the east side. A chapel next to the statue reminds of his visit.

It was at Tasitolu that in 2002, Timor-Leste declared its independence. Tasitolu was designated by the Timor Leste Government as a Peace Park on May 20, 2002, due to its social and historical importance. Two hundred trees were planted at the Peace Park on February 12, 2004, when it was launched by President Xanana Gusmão. In recent years, an international military Peace Keeping Force base has been established at Tasitolu.

During the 2006 conflict approximately 150,000 people in Timor-Leste left their homes and sought refuge as internally displaced persons (IDP) at what became a tent camp with limited facilities at Tasitolu, one of six Transitional Shelters in Dili District. IBA (Important Bird Area) Tasitolu was established in 2007. In late October 2008, plans for a five-star hotel with 350 rooms in Tasitolu were discussed; it would be the first luxury hotel in the country, to be built in 2012 between two mountain ridges, with a 27-hole golf course situated between the lakes and a business park. During excavations for the hotel, the remains of nine people were found, victims of the Indonesian occupation. The two who wore Portuguese military uniforms, are believed to have been freedom fighters of the Falintil. Also in 2008, approximately 100 bodies were found near Tasitolu in the Delta Comorro. In September 2009, the Minister of Social Solidarity announced that Tasi Tolu Transitional Shelter would close, and that the effected families would receive assistance through recovery or reintegration packages. On the country's ten-year anniversary of independence, in 2012, Tasitolu was again the site of an historic event when the new President Taur Matan Ruak, took over the office from José Ramos-Horta.

In 2024, Pope Francis became the second Pope to hold a mass at the site. An estimated 600,000 people, nearly half the country's population, attended a mass Pope Francis held at Esplanade of Tasitolu.

Flora and fauna

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/A_Great_Egret_strolling_along_a_glassy_Lake_Tasitolu.jpg" caption="A Great Egret strolling along a glassy Lake Tasitolu"] ::

In addition to the salt lake, the habitat is characterized as grassland, savanna woodland, and tropical dry forest. There are stands of both mangrove and eucalyptus. Every year, hundreds of water birds from Russia arrive during the winter. Many native birds also live in the area. A total of 71 bird species have been reported as observed there, including seven listed as Near Threatened (NT) in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List and 15 listed as restricted-range species. The populations of NT species include slaty cuckoo-doves, pink-headed imperial pigeons, olive-shouldered parrots, white-bellied bush chats, and Timor sparrows.

Dugongs are often observed at Tasitolu, although detailed information regarding their habitat location, size, and characteristics in the area was not available. Seagrass, which serves dugongs, is distributed along the Tasitolu beach, and dugongs clearly feed and rely on the seagrass ecosystem. There is also substantial live coral cover in the area. Cephalopods, crustaceans, frogfish, harlequin ghost pipefish, small octopuses, rhinopias, sea horses, and soft coral crabs encompass some of the other sea life at Tasitolu.

Conservation

Tasitolu has been designated a Wetland of National Significance and a Peace Park. The Tasitolu protected area is under threat from human use because of the proximity to the capital city. These threats include timber collection, urban dumping, industrial rock and sand extraction, agriculture, transportation, and tourism. Nature conservation and research constitutes a major land use. As such, a 2004 reforestation project was funded by the Department of Forestry in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and included community member participation. Tasitolu was not included in the 1982 FAO/UNDP or 1989 Regional Physical Planning Project for Transmigration (RePPProT) surveys. But it was included in the 2000 United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) survey, and in 2007, it became the thirteenth area in Timor-Leste to receive the IBA designation. Along with the country's other IBAs, Tasitolu is part of the Timor and Wetar Endemic Bird Area (EBA).

References

References

  1. Wheeler, Tony. (2004). "East Timor". Lonely Planet.
  2. "Tasi Tolu". Wanna Dive.
  3. (1990). "Indonesia reports". Indonesia Publications.
  4. Rei, Naldo. (2007). "Resistance: A Childhood Fighting for East Timor". Univ. of Queensland Press.
  5. (1992). "In cold blood: the massacre of East Timor". Yorkshire Television.
  6. (1989). "Holy mass at Tasi-Tolu in Dili". The Vatican.
  7. (October 1989). "Far Eastern Economic Review".
  8. (1991). ""Opening up": travellers' impressions of East Timor, 1989-1991". Australia East Timor Association.
  9. (May 21, 2012). "East Timor marks independence". The Taipei Times.
  10. "Tasitolu Peace Park". ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity.
  11. (12 February 2004). "Tasi Tolu Peace Park project kicks off with tree planting ceremony". United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor.
  12. (May 18, 2012). "Decade after independence, Timor-Leste sets sights on the future". Thomson Reuters Foundation.
  13. "Human Rights Watch Comecos Tortuosos Violencia Policial E O Comeco Da Impunidade Em Timor-leste". Human Rights Watch.
  14. Kingsbury, Damien. (15 April 2009). "East Timor: The Price of Liberty". Macmillan.
  15. (11 September 2009). "Minister of Social Solidarity Announces Closure of Quarantina and Tasi Tolu Transitional Shelters". Timor Today.
  16. (10 September 2024). "Pope Francis' Mass in East Timor draws 600,000 people, nearly half the population". Associated Press.
  17. (10 September 2024). "Apostolic Journey – Pope Francis in East Timor: excerpts from the homily during the Holy Mass on the esplanade of Taci Tolu".
  18. (2024-09-10). "Pope Francis' Mass in one of world's most Catholic nations gathers almost half its population". CNN.
  19. (September 10, 2024). "Pope Francis' Mass in East Timor draws 600,000 people, nearly half the population". Associated Press.
  20. (September 10, 2024). "APOSTOLIC JOURNEY - Pope Francis in East Timor: excerpts from the homily during the Holy Mass on the esplanade of Taci Tolu".
  21. Nippon Koei Co. (November 2019). "Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste: Preliminary Assessment for Dili Airport Runway Upgrading Project (Financed by the Technical Assistance Special Fund)". [[Asian Development Bank]] (ADB).
  22. "TL13 Tasitolu Peace Park". BirdLife International.
  23. [https://web.archive.org/web/20081122073923/http://www.birdlife.org/downloads/iba/IBAs%20in%20Timor-Leste%20low%20res.pdf Trainor, C. R., Santana, F., Rudyanto, Xavier, A. F., Pinto, P. and de Oliveira, G. F. (2007) ''Important Bird Areas in Timor-Leste: Key sites for conservation''. Cambridge, U.K.: BirdLife International.] {{ISBN. 978-0-946888-59-7

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protected-areas-of-timor-lesteimportant-bird-areas-of-timor-lestewetlands-of-east-timorpopulated-places-in-timor-lestedili-municipality