"The question about
environment has become a question about
man's survival.
It is the basic aim to preserve Creation."
Richard von Weizsäcker
As early as 1872 the US Congress launched the
world's first national park with the so-called
'Yellowstone Act '. This was particularly laudable
considering that it happened at a time when
the natural landscape of the American West seemed
unbelievably rich and when many areas were only
just being developed by colonists, in the most
difficult of circumstances. It was a step that
could be understood as "a cultural nation's
renunciation of use in favour of nature".
For the first time nature was granted the right
to remain intact, for its own sake and "for
the edification, joy and education of future
generations".
Nowadays the national parks constitute a series
of unspoilt or natural landscapes. They are
members of a worldwide network of unique habitats
and are subjected to the highest degree of protection.
Not only do their natural environments offer
a counter-balance to the struggles of everyday
life, actively engaging with them means to experience
the cycles of nature with all your senses, to
acquire new knowledge in a spirit of playfulness,
and to rediscover many things that you had thought
forgotten.
An impressive exhibition
of watercolour sketches by the American
landscape painter Thomas Moran contributed
greatly to the drawing-up of the so-called
"Yellowstone Act" by the
representatives of the US Congress
in 1872. Moran produced these sketches
during his journeys in the Yellowstone
Area, with its picturesque landscapes
characterised by innumerable geysers,
waterfalls and an immense abundance
of wildlife.
The
IUCN's strict criteria for National Parks
lay down that economic exploitation of the core
area should be completely renounced, permitting
human intervention only within the framework
of initiatives for the restoration of the natural
environment. In the so-called Protection Areas,
they allow only traditional activities, such
as pasture and meadow farming. (The World Conservation
Union / International Union for Conservation
of Nature consists of governmental and non-governmental
organisations from more than 125 countries)
There are now more
than 2,100 recognised national parks
worldwide, among them the Saragamatha
National Park with the world's highest
mountain, Mount Everest (8,846m).
In order to have the same regulations worldwide,
and to prevent arguments over labels and descriptions,
the United Nations together with the IUCN, laid
down a series of guidelines and definitions
that give both clear information about required
standards for the setting up of national parks
and a benchmark for their evaluation. These
guidelines and definitions can be found in a
list of 6 different management criteria for
protected areas. Category II sites under these
definitions are given the name "national
park".
Selection criteria for national parks are (amongst
others):
The area has to include a definitive example
of a non-developed natural region, and a range
of natural phenomena, or landscapes, of outstanding
beauty. It must be an area in which varieties
of plants and animals, habitats and geomorphological
phenomena can be found. It should be mentally
and spiritually stimulating, as well as being
of special scientific and educational interest
It should also provide opportunities for relaxation
and tourism.
The area has to be large enough to include
one or more complete ecosystems that have
not been appreciably changed by constant utilisation,
or human exploitation.
Besides the protection
of the virgin landscape, a high priority
is educational work. We aim to promote
a system of values and, so, to make
visitors aware of the motivating ethos
behind the National Park's work: the
protection of nature in accordance
with the highest standards and principles.
With its landscape of breathtaking beauty,
the Gesaeuse National Park is the third largest
and also the most recent national park in Austria.
Located between Admont, famous for its Benedictine
seminary and the world's largest convent library,
and the ancient mining town of Hieflau, the
National Park currently comprises about 11,000
hectares.
