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The difference between a nature reserve and a national park. What is the difference between a nature reserve and a national park and a nature reserve?

Many people have heard the phrase “national park,” but not everyone knows what it really is. These objects are of particular interest to travelers, especially for those who prefer natural beauty to man-made ones. In this article we will explain, what is a national park, how it differs from the reserve, and we will list the most worth visiting sites from the world natural heritage.

What is a national park

A national park is a special area of ​​natural landscape that is protected to limit human activity. By the way, this name can be used not only for the territory, but also for the water area - i.e. absolutely any area of ​​the planet where efforts are being made to preserve its natural pristine state.

The main thing a traveler needs to know about national parks is that you can travel through them. In fact, they were created precisely for this purpose, so that modern people could see with their own eyes the endless beauty of untouched nature. Also in national parks it is possible to conduct scientific research and conduct some types of economic activities.

Despite the fact that the concept of a national park is universal, each country may have its own characteristics; accordingly, the rules of conduct in natural sites may be different, and the traveler should carefully study them before the trip.

An attempt was made to give a universal definition of the term what a national park is at the tenth session of the General Assembly of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The common features for such parks were proposed to be:

  • pristine nature of the natural system or insignificant human influence on it;
  • a sufficiently large area;
  • interest in these places from the point of view of science, spirituality or tourism.

In Russia, for example, a clause on the presence of completely untouched areas of nature in a national park is mandatory. Those. if there are none, then the site cannot be considered a national park.

Characteristic features that unite the concept of a national park throughout the world also include:

  • Diversity of landscape, flora and fauna. There may also be rare species of plants and animals listed in the Red Book.
  • Objective beauty of landscapes;
  • The presence of significant cultural and historical events in the area;
  • Clearly recognized tourist potential of the place.

Reserve. Definition

A reserve is an area of ​​an ecosystem untouched by humans, access to the territory of which is strictly limited in order to protect the rare species of animals and plants located in it. Thus, the main goal of the reserve is to preserve the natural course of life of all structures that make up the ecosystem.

How does a national park differ from a nature reserve?

The main difference between a national park and a nature reserve is the degree to which human activity is limited. Quite a number of activities are permitted in national parks, from scientific research to organizing hiking trips. It is impossible to enter the reserve without special permission from environmental authorities, and almost all types of human activity are prohibited there. Movement within the territory is strictly limited, and any activities that pose a danger to at least any part of the natural system are suppressed. In this, by the way, reserves differ from nature reserves, in which only certain populations of flora and fauna are “exposed” to protection.

What is the reason for such a strict regime of access to the territory?

With few exceptions, the reserves contain rare and endangered species of plants and animals. The situation is often so serious that only a complete ban on human intervention can save the living population. Tourism in the reserves is practically excluded, but a variety of scientific activities are carried out - monitoring the state of the eco-environment, counting animals, training specialists in environmental protection, etc.

As with national parks, the concept of a nature reserve can vary from country to country. In Russia, nature reserves are strictly protected by federal legislation. Any Russian reserve, the definition of which is quite clearly stated in legislative acts, is a specially protected area.

A national park is a special natural area where human activity is limited (or prohibited) for environmental protection purposes. But tourists and nature lovers are allowed to visit this area. In nature reserves, not only any economic activity is prohibited, but also the entry of people into its territory. It is interesting that such a phenomenon as a nature reserve is typical only for our country; there are almost none of them in the world.

Reserve - definition

A specially protected territory or water area in which, in order to preserve natural resources, economic activity and the presence of people are completely prohibited in order to preserve natural complexes and protect flora and fauna. According to the Federal Law on Specially Protected Natural Territories, land and water plots are transferred to nature reserves for permanent, unlimited use.

Objectives of the reserve

implementation of the protection of natural areas in order to preserve biological diversity and maintain protected natural complexes and objects in their natural state; organization and conduct of scientific research; implementation of environmental monitoring; environmental education; participation in the state environmental assessment of projects and layouts for economic and other facilities; assistance in training scientific personnel and specialists in the field of environmental protection.

National Park - Definition

  • National parks are environmental, environmental, educational and research institutions, the territories (water areas) of which include natural complexes and objects of special ecological, historical and aesthetic value, and are intended for use for environmental, educational, scientific and cultural purposes and for regulated tourism.
  • National parks are exclusively federal property. Buildings, structures, historical, cultural and other real estate objects are assigned to national parks with the right of operational management.
  • A protective zone with a limited regime of environmental management is being created around the national park.

Main tasks of national parks

preservation of natural complexes, unique and reference natural sites and objects; preservation of historical and cultural objects; creating conditions for regulated tourism and recreation; development and implementation of scientific methods of nature conservation and environmental education; restoration of damaged natural, historical and cultural complexes and objects.

Nature reserves and national parks are objects of federal significance. Federal budget funds are allocated for their maintenance.

Natural parks

Natural parks in their status and objectives are very close to national parks. The main difference is that the facilities are subjects of the federation, that is, they are under the jurisdiction of the republics, territories and regions and are financed from local budgets. For example, in the Urals Taganay is a national park. And “Oleni Ruchii” and “Chusovaya River” are natural parks. I strongly advise you to visit all three - you won’t regret it.

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Human intervention in the ecological system in the process of active economic activity often leads to irreparable consequences. Certain animal species are under threat of complete extinction, bird migration conditions are disrupted, the species diversity of the plant world is narrowing, and natural reservoirs and drinking sources are suffering. To preserve natural areas and maintain ecological balance, state-protected reserves, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries are created. Their status is determined by executive authorities authorized to make appropriate decisions in the field of environmental protection and conservation.
According to the features of the security regime reserves are a natural area in which actions that disrupt the structure of the ecosystem, negatively affect the reproduction of certain species of animals and birds, or entail changes in the natural landscape are prohibited or limited.
Game reserves are most often created to preserve populations of valuable animals. A temporary ban on hunting and trapping, as well as on activities that could lead to changes in their habitat, is introduced on their territory. This applies to reclamation work, deforestation, the use of meadows for grazing, road construction and the construction of various economic facilities.
In places with harsh winters, feeding areas are set up for the inhabitants of reserves suffering from a lack of food, and in flood zones, restrictive dams are built to prevent the flooding of meadow rodent burrows, anthills, bumblebee nests and bird nests.
Botanical and hydrological reserves are natural scientific laboratories in which observations of the processes of plant vegetation and the state of water bodies affecting the spawning of commercial fish are carried out. In landscape reserves, phenomena under the influence of which change the soil structure, transform rock masses, and form stalactite caves are studied. The security functions of such reserves are associated with similar research work.
Reserves– strictly protected by the state territories, within which there are areas of land, forests and water areas inhabited by endangered species of animals or representing a rare combination of a community of plant organisms and unique geological formations. Conservation status is usually assigned to an area that is typical of a certain geographical area and at the same time is of scientific value as a natural site or national historical heritage.
In the reserves, any types of economic and industrial activities are prohibited, movement and any actions that threaten the preservation of the integrity of the natural complex and could lead to the death of animals, birds, inhabitants of water bodies and vegetation are strictly limited,
Unlike nature reserves, where protective measures are provided for individual species of animals and plants, nature reserves preserve the entire natural complex intact as a dynamic structure reflecting the adaptability of living organisms to their environment.
The most significant reserves are included in the biosphere reserves and have the appropriate UNESCO certificates. Among them are the Grand Canyon, which occupies an area along the Colorado River with a length of 466 km, Fiordland, which unites the deepest lakes in New Zealand, Iguazu Falls on the border of Argentina and Brazil, and the Great Barrier Reef off the east coast of Australia. Biosphere reserves also include our domestic ones: Taimyrsky, Baikalsky, Barguzinsky. Central Siberian and Caucasian.

the site determined that the difference between a reserve and a wildlife sanctuary is as follows:

Sanctuaries are created to preserve and develop individual populations of animals, birds or aquatic life. Nature reserves preserve all types of living organisms in their natural habitat.
In nature reserves, temporary restrictions are introduced on certain types of economic activities in order to avoid their detrimental impact on the processes of restoration of the protected population. In nature reserves, any type of economic and industrial activity is permanently prohibited.
In the reserves, measures are being taken to feed animals in unfavorable weather conditions. Such measures are not provided for in nature reserves, since the goal is to preserve the natural development of the natural complex without active human intervention.
Nature reserves are divided into hunting, botanical and hydrological. Reserves can be natural, landscape, historical, or archaeological. Particularly distinguished are museum-reserves, which may include a part of the city, a park or a separate estate of architectural or historical value.
Nature reserves, unlike nature reserves, may be included in the biosphere reserves.

What is a reserve? Is it significantly different from a 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, access to outsiders and any human activity other than security and scientific activities is prohibited, while tourism and limited economic activities are allowed in national parks.

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 different categories of the IUCN, that is, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, represented by local legislation. In case of unique global significance, the object falls under the protection of UNESCO. In the Russian Federation, 100 nature reserves and 50 national parks are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of 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.

The first state reserve was Drachenfels, established 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 Network: 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 origin. 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 are also 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.

RESERVE
NATIONAL PARK

The protection regime of the national park allows independent visits to the territory for the purpose of recreation and tourism, with a pass and in places equipped for tourism and fishing. However, there are also prohibitions.

In the territories of national parks Any activity that can cause damage to natural complexes and objects of flora and fauna, cultural and historical objects and that contradicts the goals and objectives is prohibited national park, including:

1. Industrial logging;

2. Exploration and development of mineral resources;

3. Hunting;

4. Visit without a pass;

5. Organization of mass sports and entertainment events, organization of tourist camps, lighting fires in unauthorized places;

6. Being on the territory with a dog without a muzzle and a leash;

7. Movement and parking of vehicles not related to the functioning of national parks;

8. Wood rafting along watercourses and reservoirs;

9. Removal of items of historical and cultural value;

10. Construction of facilities not related to the functioning of national parks and ensuring the functioning of settlements located within their boundaries.

Due to the fact that the main task of the reserve is keeping nature in its natural state, the territory is completely withdrawn from economic use. On the territory of the state nature reserve Any activity that contradicts the objectives of the state natural reserve and the regime of special protection of its territory established in the regulations is prohibited about this state nature reserve.

This means that it is prohibited:

1. Visit the territory independently;

2. Be on the territory without a pass;

3. Cut down trees (cut down anything at all);

4. Collect mushrooms, berries, wild plants (nuts, herbs, etc.);

5. Fish;

6. Hunt;

7. Build objects not related to the activities of the reserve.