European Nature Parks: Cross-border plans and projects are carried out under the Europarc umbrella.
Protected Area Network of Parks (PANPark), certification by the WWF initiated network which are aimed at combining the preservation of wilderness with tourism
Nature parks by country
Austria
Overview map of Austria's nature parks (image uploaded in 2010)
There are currently 47 nature parks in Austria with a total area of around 500,000 ha (as at April 2010). They are host to nearly 20 million visitors annually.[2] The designation of "nature park" is awarded by the respective state governments. To achieve this award, the 4 pillars of a nature park have to be met: conservation, recreation, education and regional development.
Association of Austrian Nature Parks (VNÖ)
In 1995 all the Austrian nature parks agreed to be represented by the Association of Austrian Nature Parks (Verband der Naturparke Österreichs) or VNÖ.
Currently there are nature parks in the following states:
In Belgium, there are two different structures. In Flanders, their name is Regionale Landschappen and in Wallonia, the Natural Parks. There are 17 Regionale Landschappen in Flanders and 9 Natural Parks in Wallonia.
In the Czech Republic a Nature Park (Přírodní Park) is defined as a large area serving the protection of a landscape against activities that could decrease its natural and esthetic value. They can be established by any State Environment Protection body.
The Nature park is one of the options for area-based nature conservation provided for under the Federal Nature Conservation Act (the BNatSchG). On 6 June 1956 in the former capital city of Bonn at the annual meeting of the Nature Reserve Association (in the presence of President Theodor Heuss and Minister Heinrich Lübke)., the environmentalist and entrepreneur, Alfred Toepfer, presented a programme developed jointly with the Central Office for Nature Conservation and Landscape Management and other institutions to set up (initially) 25 nature parks in West Germany. Five percent of the area of the old Federal Republic of Germany was to be spared from major environmental damage as a result.
Definition of nature parks in Germany
The definition of the category of nature park is laid down in federal law (§ 27 of the BNatSchG). Details, especially with regard to the identification, investigation or recognition as a nature park vary in each state depending on the provisions of local conservation law.
§ 27 of the BnatSchG determines that natural parks are large areas that are to be developed and managed as a single unit, that consist mainly of protected landscapes or nature reserves, that have a large variety of species and habitats and that have a landscape that exhibits a variety of uses.
In nature parks, the aim is to strive for environmentally sustainable land use and they should be especially suitable for recreation and for sustainabletourism because of their topographical features.
The underlying idea is a "protection through usage", so the acceptance and participation of the population in the protection of the cultural landscape and nature is very important. In doing so the nature conservation and the needs of recreation users should be linked so that both sides benefit: sustainable tourism with respect for the value of nature and landscape is paramount.
Basically all actions, interventions and projects that would be contrary to the purpose of conservation are prohibited.
Nature parks are to be considered in zoning and must be represented and considered in local development plans. This is called an acquisition memorandum. They are binding and cannot be waived because of a higher common good.
The sponsors of nature parks are usually clubs or local special purpose associations.
The German nature parks come together in the Association of German Nature Parks.
In Germany today there are 101 nature parks (as at: March 2009), that occupy some 25% of the land area. They are an important building block for nature conservation and help to preserve the sites of natural beauty, cultural landscapes, rare species and biotopes and to make them accessible to later generations.
In the Philippines, Natural Parks are a type of protected area. They are defined by Republic Act No. 7586 as: "relatively large areas not materially altered by human activity where extractive resource uses are not allowed and maintained to protect outstanding natural and scenic areas of national or international significance for scientific, educational and recreational use."[3]
In Switzerland the establishment of regional nature parks is regulated by the Federal Act on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage.[4] The three categories are:[5]
National parks and nature experience parks have very strict protected areas, something which does not exist in regional nature parks.[6] The latter focus much more on striking a balance in the level of support between nature conservation and the regional economy.
Spain
In Spain, a natural park (Spanish: parque natural) is a natural space protected for its biology, geology, or landscape, with ecological, aesthetic, educational, or scientific value whose preservation merits preferential attention on the part of public administration. The regulation of the activities that may occur there attempts to assure its protection.[7] Natural parks focus their attention on the conservation and maintenance of flora, fauna, and terrain. Natural parks may be maritime or terrestrial and can be in the mountains, along the coasts, in the desert, or any other geographically defined space.
Spain distinguishes natural parks from national parks. The categories of protected areas in Spain under Law 4/1989 are not based on higher or lower levels of protection, but on functions and characteristics:
Parks: "natural areas, little transformed by human exploitation and occupation, that, for reason of the beauty of their landscapes, the representativeness of their ecosystems or their flora, fauna or geomorphological formations, possesses ecological, aesthetic, educational and scientific value, whose conservation merits preferential attention."[8]
National parks: "those spaces that, being able to be declared as Parks by Law of the General Courts, are declared their conservation of general interest of the Nation with the attribution to the State of its management and the corresponding allocation of budgetary resources."[9]
Nature reserves: "natural spaces whose creation has as its end the protection of ecosystems, communities or biological elements that, because of their rarity, fragility, importance or singularity merit a special valuation."[10]
Natural monuments: "natural spaces or elements constituted basically by formations of notably singularity, rarity or beauty, that merit being the object of special protection."[11]
Protected Landscapes: "concrete places in the natural environment that, because of their aesthetic and cultural valuer, merit special protection."[12]
↑ Excerpted from Ley 4/1989: "espacios naturales cuya creación tiene como finalidad la protección de ecosistemas, comunidades o elementos biológicos que, por su rareza, fragilidad, importancia o singularidad merecen una valoración especial."
↑ Excerpted from Ley 4/1989: "espacios o elementos de la naturaleza constituídos básicamente por formaciones de notoria singularidad, rareza o belleza, que merecen ser objeto de una protección especial."
↑ Excerpted from Ley 4/1989: "lugares concretos del medio natural que, por sus valores estéticos y culturales, sean merecedores de una protección especial."
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for purposes of conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. They may be designated by government institutions in some countries, or by private landowners, such as charities and research institutions. Nature reserves fall into different IUCN categories depending on the level of protection afforded by local laws. Normally it is more strictly protected than a nature park. Various jurisdictions may use other terminology, such as ecological protection area or private protected area in legislation and in official titles of the reserves.
Wilderness or wildlands are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally referred to terrestrial environments, though growing attention is being placed on marine wilderness. Recent maps of wilderness suggest it covers roughly one-quarter of Earth's terrestrial surface, but is being rapidly degraded by human activity. Even less wilderness remains in the ocean, with only 13.2% free from intense human activity.
Laguna de Términos is the largest tidal lagoon by volume located entirely on the Gulf of Mexico, as well as one of the most biodiverse. Exchanging water with several rivers and lagoons, the Laguna is part of the most important hydrographic river basin in Mexico. It is important commercially, as well as ecologically by serving as a refuge for extensive flora and fauna; its mangroves play an important role as a refuge for migratory birds.
The conservation status of a group of organisms indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation status: not simply the number of individuals remaining, but the overall increase or decrease in the population over time, breeding success rates, and known threats. Various systems of conservation status are in use at international, multi-country, national and local levels, as well as for consumer use such as sustainable seafood advisory lists and certification. The two international systems are by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The Cerrado is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, being present in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Paraná and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are the Brazilian highlands – the Planalto. The main habitat types of the Cerrado consist of forest savanna, wooded savanna, park savanna and gramineous-woody savanna. The Cerrado also includes savanna wetlands and gallery forests.
A natural monument is a natural or cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance. They can be natural geological and geographical features such as waterfalls, cliffs, craters, fossil, sand dunes, rock forms, valleys and coral reefs. Locations important to faith groups may be considered natural monuments. Archeological and historical sites linked to the natural environment are also included, such as cave art. This is especially true when relevant to the land of Indigenous Peoples.
There are currently 232 Protected Natural Areas in Mexico, covering 98 million hectares in total. They are protected and administered by the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas, a federal agency under the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT). CONANP administers:
Mexican Flora and Fauna Protection Areas comprise 29 protected natural areas of Mexico administrated by the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas, an agency of the federal government.
Protected areas of Poland include the following categories, as defined by the Act on Protection of Nature of 16 April 2004, by the Polish Parliament:
Protected areas of Sri Lanka are administrated by Department of Forest Conservation and Department of Wildlife Conservation of Sri Lanka.There are 501 protected areas in Sri Lanka. The protected areas that fall under supervision of the Department of Forest Conservation include forests defined in National Heritage Wilderness Area Act in 1988, forest reservations, and forests managed for sustainability. Sinharaja Forest Reserve is an example for a National Heritage forest. There are 32 forests categorized as conservation forests including Knuckles Mountain Range. Strict nature reserves, national parks, nature reserves, forest corridors, and sanctuaries recognized under the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance are managed by Department of Wildlife Conservation. Total of all protected areas is 1,767,000 ha. Protected areas in Sri Lanka account for 26.5 percent of the total area. This is a higher percentage of protected areas than in all of Asia and much of the World.
Sierra de Quila, officially the Sierra de Quila Flora and Fauna Protection Area, is a Mexican Flora and Fauna Protection Area in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. It has an area of 15,193 hectares, and is located within six municipalities: San Martín de Hidalgo, Tecolotlán, Cocula, Atengo, Tenamaxtlán, and Ameca.
The Nature Protection Service is a unit of the Spanish Civil Guard responsible for nature conservation and management of the hunting and fishing industry. It serves to carry out and oversee State provisions to preserve nature, the environment, water resources, and preserving wealth in hunting, fish farming, forestry and other nature related industries. They are also heavily involved in work against spills and contamination, illegal trade of protected species, unregulated hunting and fishing activities, protection of natural spaces, and prevention and extinction of fires.
El Jabalí Flora and Fauna Protection Area is a protected natural area located in Colima State, México. It covers an area of 51.79 km2, which includes forests and several natural lakes.
Many parts of Scotland are protected in accordance with a number of national and international designations because of their environmental, historical or cultural value. Protected areas can be divided according to the type of resource which each seeks to protect. NatureScot has various roles in the delivery of many environmental designations in Scotland, i.e. those aimed at protecting flora and fauna, scenic qualities and geological features. Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designations that protect sites of historic and cultural importance. Some international designations, such as World Heritage Sites, can cover both categories of site.
Yum Balam Flora and Fauna Protection Area is a Mexican Flora and Fauna Protection Area located in the state of Quintana Roo in southeastern Mexico. Established in 1994, the nature reserve was the first protected area in Mexico to be created at the request of local communities. The reserve includes wetlands along the north shore of the Yucatán Peninsula and adjacent Isla Holbox and has been designated as a protected Ramsar site since 2004.
The National Parks Autonomous Agency (OAPN) is an autonomous agency of the Spanish central government that manages the National Parks Network and the Spanish Biosphere Reserves Network, as well as mountains, farms and other patrimonial assets of its property. The agency was created on June 23, 1995 by the Agriculture Minister Luis María Atienza by merging two other agencies, the Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICONA) and the National Institute for Agrarian Reform and Development (IRYDA).
Boquerón de Tonalá Flora and Fauna Protection Area is a protected natural area in southern Mexico. It is located in the Sierra Madre del Sur ranges in the state of Oaxaca.
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