What is a nature reserve and a national park? What does "national park" mean?

Each country has special state-protected areas - natural national parks. The designation of this place is of particular importance since their territory contains important natural, cultural or environmental sites under the protection of the state. Parks have different purposes, but they all have one thing in common common features- these places are interesting for tourists to visit; along their paths it is pleasant to contemplate beautiful landscapes, and the unique nature delights with its uniqueness. Let's figure out what national parks are. Let's look at the definition further.

What is it?

The general interpretation of the concept is accepted. It defines what it is national park, is a part of land or body of water in which there are natural unique objects that have environmental, historical and aesthetic value. Their purpose is to perform one of the functions: environmental, recreational, educational or cultural.

There are three ramifications in connection with which states felt the need to create national parks. Each country chose the definition (what it is) based on the purposes of its creation. So, these goals were:

1. Creation of a park exclusively for tourism and recreation. For example, Yellowstone Park (USA), Banff (Canada). What these national parks are is determined by their purpose, which is to entertain people. Today, Yellowstone Park is visited by several thousand tourists a day. This is a huge area with geysers, volcanoes, canyons, waterfalls, forests with wild animals and much more. Visiting this place is a real adventure.

2. Designation of a certain territory that has already been a place of tourist pilgrimage, and in the future will be a national park. This transition is associated with the presence of natural objects that need to be additionally protected by the state. For example, the Bavarian Forest on the border of Germany and the Czech Republic, or Belovezhskaya Pushcha in Belarus. The latter was created to protect the unique European forest, the history of which dates back to ancient times.

3. Organization of the territory under the ban on the use of its wealth. Consider from this point of view, the definition of a protected area is associated with the presence of important plants, animals, or historical objects in which scientific interest is expressed. The park is created solely for the purpose of studying such objects.

Ecology

What is a national park (definition from the point of view of ecological importance) is a purposeful fencing of a territory, limiting its visits by people to preserve a unique ecosystem, a habitat of rare animals or plants.

Ecotourism has been gaining popularity lately. This is a journey into natural areas with the goal of exploring and gaining a greater understanding of the world that surrounds us. Life in cities traps people within stone walls, and they become further and further from nature. Ecotourism aims to connect people, flora and fauna. Traveling for this purpose, tourists turn off gadgets, leave computers and work, and retire with Mother Earth.

Types of ecotours

Depending on the object of visit, ecotours are divided into the following types:

Those who study only plants.
For the purpose of observing animals.
Separately, there are eco-tours for watching wild birds (very popular in Europe).
Geological - the study of the earth's interior, stones, soil.
Ethnographic - visiting original settlements that have preserved their ancient foundations. In Russia, such parks have been preserved on the territory of the Chuvash Republic and the Mari El Republic.
Archaeological. For example, it stores the remains of the largest settlements Volga Bulgaria IX-XII centuries.
Tours to visit historical places. Interesting objects in such structures are architectural buildings, architectural monuments, and museums.

In biology

Let's look at the definition for children. A national park is a place where people and Mother Nature can retire. This territory is a standard of natural landscape, where there are bizarre waterfalls, unusual trees, endangered animals or beautiful mountain peaks.

Parks play a vital role in biology. It is easy to conduct research on their territory; special groups are created for this purpose. Rare species of flora and fauna are preserved and restored here. Environmental education and scientific activities are carried out for children.

Difference from the reserve

Let's consider the definition by geography. A national park is an area where human activity is limited in order to protect the environment.

In the reserve, human activity is not only limited, it is completely prohibited. While tourism is encouraged in the national park, it is strictly limited in the reserve. It is prohibited to hunt, gather, fish, etc. The ecosystem has exclusively scientific value, and only people with permission can study it. Nature reserves are created in places where there is a halo of habitat for endangered species of plants and animals.

What are complexes: definition

A national park often does not stand alone. Infrastructure for entertainment and recreation of people is being developed around it. Thus, restaurants, hotels, places for camping and equipment rental, cultural and educational centers, museums, etc. are often located near the entrance to the territory. Such infrastructure is called a complex.

For example, museum complex National Park "Curonian Spit". Here is the main exhibition, which tells about the nature of the Curonian Spit, about the role of man in the destruction and restoration of the fragile ecosystem of the peninsula.

The complex includes the museums "Ancient Sambia" and the museum "Superstition". Nearby is the cafe "Kurena".

The largest national parks in Russia

1. “Yugyd Va” - spread out across the forest and mountain expanses of the Komi Republic. Its area is 18917.01 km2.

2. "Beringia" in Chukotka. This distant region preserves unique northern relics - plants and trees from ancient times. The territory area is 18194.54 km2.

3. It so happened that largest parks occupied northern latitudes. Another unique nature museum is the “Russian Arctic” in the Arkhangelsk region. Occupies such natural zones as tundra, forest-tundra and taiga. The total territory is 14260 km 2.

Characteristic features of natural parks

Signs that distinguish this protected area from a reserve:

Vegetable and fauna has unique features that differ from the characteristic natural area of the region. It is of scientific interest and subject to study.
Economic activity did not damage the fragile natural world this zone.
The country's authorities prohibit or restrict economic activities, including cutting down trees, using the riches of the earth's subsoil, hunting, fishing to preserve geomorphological, environmental and aesthetic features.
Visits to the park are permitted only for strictly defined purposes: recreation, excursions, scientific activities.

Thus, we see what a national park is. Its definition characterizes the features of the territory described above. These places with unique natural objects need to be preserved and studied. The main difference from the reserve is the number of people visiting it. In the national park it is practically unlimited; it is more difficult to get into the reserve. Researchers or tourists are allowed there in strictly limited numbers to study biological systems.

Regarding common features, then these two territories are protected by law, it is impossible to conduct business in them economic activity, and you can make fires and put up tents only in designated areas.

What is a reserve? Is it significantly different from national park? In both cases, these are protected areas created with the aim of preserving areas of nature in an unchanged form and preserving their flora, fauna, geological or other natural features, as well as the gene pool of animal and plant species. Such areas provide a unique opportunity for observation and scientific research of their natural environment and inhabitants. The main difference: in nature reserves the admission of outsiders and any human activity other than security and scientific activities is prohibited, while in national parks tourism and limited economic activities are allowed.

Jurisdiction

Nature reserves (reserves) can be designated and supervised by government and research institutions, charitable organizations, and in some cases, private landowners. Depending on their level of protection, nature reserves fall into various categories IUCN, that is International Union nature protection, represented by local legislation. In case of unique global significance, the object falls under the protection of UNESCO. IN Russian Federation 100 nature reserves and 50 national parks are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry natural resources and ecology.

History of modern reserves

The world's first modern nature reserve was created in 1821 by naturalist explorer Charles Waterton around his family estate in West Yorkshire. He spent £9,000 (an incredible amount at the time) building a 3-mile, 9-foot-high wall to keep poachers out of his park. Then for the first time the concept was applied: what is a reserve. In this territory, Waterton created favorable conditions mainly for the life and reproduction of wild birds, of which he made scientific observations.

First state reserve became Drachenfels, formed in Germany in 1836 when the Prussian government bought the site to protect it from mining.

Yellowstone in Wyoming, USA is the first largest national park reserve, established on an area of 8991 square meters. km in 1872. It was followed by: the Royal National Park near Sydney in Australia (1879) and the Barguzin Nature Reserve of Imperial Russia (1916), first created by the government entirely for the scientific study of nature.

Biosphere reserve

A natural park or reserve can belong to one of three types: biosphere, botanical and mineralogical, or be complex.

There are 669 biosphere reserves created on the planet, of which 564 reserves make up the World Wide Web: a special international project, developed and organized under the UNESCO program. Its main task is to preserve a stable ecosystem, plant and animal gene pool of various natural zones of the planet, as well as to comprehensively study the natural environment and biological diversity of these and adjacent territories. Biosphere reserves are created on the basis of existing natural national parks and reserves. 120 countries took part in the program. There are 37 reserves of this kind in Russia.

What is a botanical reserve?

This is an area where it is important to preserve the unique flora: endangered, relict and endemic species listed in the national or international Red Book. For this purpose, the natural landscape and natural conditions for the propagation of these plants are preserved, for example, the Khomutovskaya Steppe Nature Reserve, where 1028 hectares of the steppe zone are preserved in pristine condition.

Mineralogical reserves

These are reserves where the natural state of special natural standards is preserved: valuable from a scientific point of view, geological and mineralogical formations. Such reserves are mainly created in places with karst caves, mineral springs, salt lakes, waterfalls, geyser and volcanic geolandscapes, caves, ore veins with a rich variety of minerals and other interesting geological objects and phenomena. The first specialized object of this kind in the world was Yellowstone, and in Russia - the Ilmensky Nature Reserve (1920) in the Urals.

Complex reserves

The term “museum-reserve” appeared in Soviet Russia, since 1922 it was first applied to the “Pushkin Corner”. And since the 50s, the state form of assigning the status of museum-reserves to some historical and cultural complexes, with their adjacent territories, has been established, which determined their preservation and financing.

Now in Russia there are about a hundred museum-reserves, which can be divided into several types, based on what objects are located on their sites. This can be a combination of objects and territories of historical, architectural, archaeological, artistic, military, and even scientific and technical orientation. But what are complex reserves? Each of these museums, in addition to the main profile, combines several purposes: artistic-historical, architectural-historical, historical-archaeological, military-historical and others. Therefore, all museum-reserves can be considered complex.

Natural national parks and reserves can also be complex, when a scientifically interesting landscape with geological and mineralogical formations forms a special environment for unique flora and habitats of rare species of animals. And such a combination is not often found on the planet.

The American television channel CNN has compiled a rating of the 30 most beautiful national parks in the world. The evaluation criteria were the beauty of nature and picturesque places, safety and hospitality local residents. The TV channel noted that US parks are not included in the rating.

30 PHOTOS

1. First place in the ranking was given to Iguazu Falls National Park in Argentina. It is believed that the waterfalls on the Iguazu River, surrounded by tropical nature, are one of the most beautiful and spectacular places on Earth. (Photo: REUTERS/Jorge Adorno).
2. Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina took second place in the ranking. 30 percent of the park's territory is covered with ice, which is why it is also called the Patagonian Glacier Park. (Photo: 123 RF).
3. Third place: another National Park of Argentina - Nahuel Huapi, which is located in the Andes at an altitude of 767 meters above sea level. (Photo: 123 RF).
4. Fourth place: Gandoca-Manzanilla National Reserve in Costa Rica.
5. Fifth place in the ranking: Tikal National Park in Guatemala. It includes one of the largest and most famous archaeological sites in the world - the most important center of the Mayan civilization, Tikal. (Photo: 123 RF).
6. Sixth place in the ranking: Rapa Nui National Park, which is located on Easter Island (Chile) and is famous for its stone sculptures - moai. It is believed to be the most geographically remote inhabited island in the world from other islands and lands. (Photo: 123 RF).
7. Seventh place: Torres del Paine National Park located in the Chilean part of Patagonia. According to scientists, the park is 11 million years old. (Photo: 123 RF).
8. Eighth place: Canaima National Park, located in southeast Venezuela. This is where the tallest waterfall in the world, Angel Falls, is located. (Photo: Flickr/Heather Thorkelson)
9. Ninth place: Galapagos Islands National Park in Ecuador. The famous Galapagos tortoises, which give the islands their name, are the longest-living animal record holders - they live for more than two hundred years. (Photo: 123 RF).
10. Tenth place: Cairngorms National Park in Scotland. The park has extensive heathland where birds nest. (Photo: Flickr).
11. Eleventh place: Goreme National Park in Turkey, which is also a museum under open air— there are 350 Byzantine churches carved from rocks here. (Photo: 123 RF).
12. Twelfth place: Tatrzansky or Tatra National Park is the only high-mountain park in Poland, created to protect unique mountain landscapes, flora and fauna. (Photo: Marek Podmokly/ Agencja Gazeta).
13. Thirteenth place: Croatian Plitvice Lakes National Park, which includes 16 beautiful karst lakes connected by waterfalls. (Photo: 123 RF).
14. Fourteenth place: Victoria Falls National Park - located on the Zambezi River in Zambia. (Photo: 123 RF).
15. Fifteenth place: Kruger National Park - oldest park in South Africa, which is part of the Kruger to the Canyons Biosphere Reserve. (Photo: 123 RF).
16. Sixteenth place: Namib-Naukluft National Park in Namibia. Covering almost 50,000 square kilometers of mostly desert, it is one of the largest protected areas in the world. (Photo: 123 RF).
17. Seventeenth place: Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe. Even in the dry season, there is a lot of moisture here, which is very important for the ecosystem and animals. (Photo: Flickr/ninara).
18. Eighteenth place: Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda, on its territory there are many water cascades that waterfowl love. (Photo: 123 RF).
19. Nineteenth place: Halgurd Sakran National Park in Iraq, which includes Mount Halgurd with a height of 3607 meters. (Facebook/press materials).
20. Twentieth place: the deserted Ein Avdat National Park in Israel, which protects the beautiful areas of the canyon, inhabited in the times of the first Christians by monks and Nabataeans. (Photo: 123 RF).
21. Twenty-first place: Zhangjiajie National Park in China. This is where they filmed famous movie"Avatar". (Photo: 123 RF).
22. Twenty-second place: Naejangsan National Park in South Korea- it is especially beautiful in autumn. The park is hidden in the Naejangsan Mountains south of Seoul. (Photo: 123 RF).
23. Twenty-third place: Pagsanhan Gorge National Park in the Philippines. It includes the largest waterfalls in the country. According to legend, before the waterfalls appeared, two twins lived in this place. One day, after a severe drought, one of them died, then the second twin climbed high rocks and began to curse the gods, when suddenly a spring began to flow from under his feet, which laid the foundation for the waterfalls. (Photo: 123 RF).
24. Twenty-fourth place: Minneriya National Park in Sri Lanka, whose main pride is its large population of elephants. (Photo: 123 RF).
25. Twenty-fifth place: Sundarbans National Park - a tiger and biosphere reserve in India. (Photo: 123 RF).
26. Twenty-sixth place: Bannerghatta National Park in India. Part of the park is a nature reserve, where more than a hundred species of birds, many mammals (including elephants, bears, leopards) and insects are strictly protected. There is also an animal rescue center here. (Photo: Flickr/Nisha D).
27. Twenty-seventh place: Bandhavgarh National Park, home to the largest population of tigers in all of India. (Photo: 123 RF).
28. Twenty-eighth place: Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in Australia. The famous red-brown mountain Uluru (Ayers Rock) changes its color depending on the angle of light. (Photo: 123 RF).
29. Twenty-ninth place: Blue Mountains National Park in Australia. The name “Blue Mountains” comes from the blue eucalyptus trees growing on the slopes of the mountains. (Photo: 123 RF).
30. Thirtieth place: Paparoa National Park in New Zealand, the main attraction of which is the pancake limestone cliffs, as well as beautiful caves. (Photo: 123 RF).

As you can guess from the title, National Park Snowdonia is located in the Snowdon mountains. The elevation of 3,560 feet offers scenic views of the park. Lakes and rivers are set against a background of trees and rocks, making a park ideal place for relaxation and taking photographs. Within the boundaries of Snowdonia Park, visitors can also admire ancient castles. History is the realm of legends and tales, which makes the park an even more fascinating place to visit. Sleep music is easy and relaxing to listen to

Grand Canyon, USA

Over hundreds of years, the Colorado River created this amazingly complex Grand Canyon. Every year, tourists flock to this place to admire its beauty, travel to the bottom of the canyon and set up camp. The Grand Canyon is one of the natural wonders of the world and has also been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Grand Canyon extends over 1,200,000 acres.

Kruger National Park, South Africa

One of the largest national parks in the world, the Kruger Park covers millions of acres of land. It is home to a huge number of African animal species, including elephants, giraffes and many more. You can observe these animals from observation towers scattered throughout the park. The Kruger National Park also offers 9 different routes, including at night.

Deosai, Pakistan

Every spring, thousands of flowers and butterflies begin to bloom in Deosai National Park, forming a living carpet, and this riot of colors makes this place fabulously beautiful. Of course, it is advisable to visit the park in the spring, although it is beautiful all year round.

Kakadu National Park, Australia

The Australian government and Aboriginal people work together to care for such a beautiful national park Cockatoo. The park is a World Heritage Site and its stunning views attract tourists all year round. One of the most interesting attractions in the park is rock paintings Aboriginals that can be found in the area. It is also home to a range of animals, including the saltwater crocodile.

Hortobagy, Hungary

Hortobagy became the first national park in Hungary. It was declared as a national park in 1973. In 1999, the park was included in the list of World Heritage Sites. Home to wild horses and a range of endangered birds, Hortobagy Park is home to over 342 bird species and is a true birdwatcher's paradise.

Plitvice Lakes, Croatia

This area of Croatia is ideal for holidays and hiking, with stunning mountainous terrain dotted with lakes and streams. The uniqueness of the reservoirs of this park is that the water contains travertine. This gives the water perfect clarity as well as a very vibrant blue-green hue.

Madain Saley National Historical Park, Saudi Arabia

While many parks have dense vegetation, Madain Salei consists almost entirely of desert and rocks. The amazing oases and attractions of the park will blow your mind. The ancient burial ground in the park is also beautiful. More than 125 graves and facades were carved into the rock sometime between 500 BC. and 100 AD. They are still in excellent condition and are certainly worth a visit if you are in the area.

Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal

Here you can admire Everest, as well as its adjacent mountains, monasteries and villages. National Park serves as a home for mountain goats, which balance perfectly while climbing dangerous sheer cliffs.

Iguazu National Park, Argentina and Brazil

National Park Iguazu is located in Argentina and Brazil. Iguazu Falls is actually made up of hundreds of waterfalls in a circle of curved rock. The park is home to wide range wild animals including howler monkeys, jaguars, tapirs and caimans.

The term “national park” appeared not so long ago. This is what today is called the territory where the environment is protected, but human activity, although permitted, is limited.

Prerequisites for creation

In our country, the nationalization of parks is a relative innovation that was introduced quite recently. During the Soviet period, the system of nature conservation and reserves was of a rather narrow profile, so in the western part of the country there were practically no reserves, and practically no one knew what a national park was. Today, natural parks are dominant, because here nature is not only protected, but also shown to people around. Tourists can visit the national park and see everything clearly. This allows you to enjoy nature, interact with wild animals, and also financially help preserve the environment. What is a national park and what is the history of its creation in Russia? These and other questions can be answered in this article.

One of these facilities, which was organized in the USA, became a kind of model for the nationalization of parks. Already the first visitors to this park, it became obvious that this model is unique and gives incredible pleasure to a person who contemplates the beauty of the surrounding nature. The idea of preserving nature in this way was made public in 1872, and thus the decree on the nationalization of parks was signed.

National park and reserve. What's the difference?

First of all, the main difference is the fact that almost the entire territory of the national park is open to human gaze. Naturally, the stay of visitors is regulated by fairly strict rules. The main function of the national park is to provide all conditions for educational recreation of people and partial communication with wild nature. Here, for this purpose, special sidewalks are built, campsites are built, routes are also laid out, and even recreation centers are created. A good example other national parks in the world are creating similar recreational areas. The strategy for their development provides a truly noticeable economic effect and makes it possible to fully recoup the living expenses of animals and provide them with everything they need, while preserving nature. An interesting fact is that such establishments are visited by huge amount people, as well as tourists who specifically come to see certain types of animals.

The secret of success

What is a national park and why is it so attractive to visitors? This is quite simple to explain, because this is where you can observe amazing natural landscapes. Typically, national parks are built in areas with unusually beautiful nature. Such places can be majestic rocks, divinely beautiful waterfalls, picturesque lakes and forests, and steel is no exception. thermal springs. Any tourist can arrive at a national park and be absolutely sure that they will see incredible beautiful nature, get to know the animals and spend your time with great benefit.

Communication with animals

Another important criterion for visiting national parks is touching communication directly with wildlife, as well as with its prominent representatives. Naturally, it is strictly prohibited to hunt lesser brethren in the national park, but there are also places where hunting is allowed according to certain regulations (meaning photo hunting). In this case, given the fact that people are in the territory, the animals begin to get used to them and pay their attention to people. For example, a deer can calmly approach a person without fear of a photo shoot, and even eat something out of their hands. In these conditions, the administration necessarily warns people not to be too intrusive with animals, to exercise extreme caution; the animal still poses a potential danger. This rule primarily applies to large individuals (bears, wild boars); bison are no less dangerous. In every national park you can see a huge number of animals that can amaze a person in just a few days. For this purpose, special routes have been created along which you can observe representatives of the fauna.

Poaching

Despite all that has been said about national parks, there are also certain problems that need to be dealt with. One of them is poaching; it has long become a serious threat to the conservation of wildlife. To combat this phenomenon, special guards are formed to monitor the territory of the entire reserve. If the shooting of animals occurs, then certain sanctions are applied to the person, first of all, fines that must be repaid. Being in the park with a weapon is already a violation of the rules, and only for this the administration can bring certain liability.

Land use problems

Incredibly often, national parks and reserves are faced with such a problem as certain types of land claims; for example, in 2009, one of the coastal national parks had to lose almost half of its territory, which significantly affected its further development.

Pernicious Consciousness

U similar establishments other problems arise. Usually they are based on the consciousness of people themselves, which does not always accept the very idea that nature needs to be preserved and eco-tourism developed. Some people have barbaric ideas that forests are intended for cutting down and harvesting wood, and the animals that live there are created for shooting and cooking. This kind of thinking prevents the creation of new parks and the conservation of animal populations. One of the American legendary national parks was no exception, which over the years began to generate huge income, animals were preserved and bred, the park was opened in 1870. It is surprising that in the first years and even decades, poachers ruled here, annually killing tens of thousands of defenseless bison and deer. As a result of such barbarity, the government decided to protect the territory and adopted certain sanctions against poachers.

The state of national parks in Russia

If we talk about Russia in this situation, then we can draw a rather sad conclusion that now a similar situation is at the level, most likely, of the 19th century. A huge number of mistakes are repeated, especially when it comes to poaching. Most local leaders cannot understand the purpose of developing such parks, as well as their economic benefits. As a result, certain rules are not observed, trees are cut down, and poachers constantly enter the territory. But initially the territory has a clear definition. A national park is a place where human activity is strictly limited. So, we can conclude that there are no fundamental differences between a national park and a nature reserve. What is a national park? This is a place that is accessible to vacationers, a person can communicate with nature, and also do something useful for it, even in financially. Visits to nature reserves are strictly limited to certain excursion programs, so it’s not always possible to fully enjoy the beauty.

The definition of a natural national park also carries with it a noble idea - to preserve the fragile surrounding nature. And it is they who enable a person to take part in this difficult process and feel important for nature, to preserve a small part of it.