Photo: S. Klingner
LET NATURE BE NATURE – The motto of German national parks
Natural landscapes invigorate and bring balance to human life. Furthermore, however, precisely those (natural) conservation areas – and our National Park – are home to the last and very last habitats of many plant or animal species whose fate concerns us as human beings. How exactly conservation is practised here you can learn under fundamentals. Why it is worth working for natural conservation every day, you will find out at Natural space. And that conservation works extremely well across political boundaries, is shown in the cross-border cooperation with our Bohemian neighbors.
National Park – What is that?
National parks are protected areas where the natural environment can unfold as naturally as possible being largely undisturbed (process protection). They should include large areas with particularly valuable natural features that are little influenced by humans and no longer subject to economic use. But national parks also act as places for scientific observation of natural and semi-natural communities. They should be made accessible to the public for educational purposes, as long as the protective purpose is fulfilled. The economic use of the natural resources is excluded. The original national park idea was born in the 19th century in the United States and has spread around the globe since.
What does the National Park protect?
- Landscape conservation: character, beauty and natural spatial diversity of parts of the Saxon Elbe Sandstone Mountains
- Process Protection: Undisturbed (unguided) natural development without human intervention
- Habitat protection: Natural forests with their habitats and rocks
- Biodiversity conservation: Native plants and animals in their natural habitats
Wilderness in Central Europe?
For a long time, there have not been large-scale natural landscapes in Central European conditions, that were not once subject to use or affected by it. Nevertheless, there are landscapes which have such extraordinary natural features and biodiversity, as well as character and beauty that they deserve to be protected as national parks and developed for this purpose.
