Maciamo
14-09-09, 23:17
Europe is typically seen as a destination for historic buildings rather than nature. It isn't as wild as say the USA, Brazil, China or Australia, but there are nevertheless some very beautiful natural areas, be it the Scottish Highlands, the snowy peaks and pastures of the Alps, the islands of the Mediterranean, the woodlands of Scandinavia or the swamps of the Camargue. Here is a summary of official nature parks in a few countries.
Britain (http://www.eupedia.com/directory/8702/36365/36366/36367/index.html)
13 national parks in England & Wales (14,629 km²), 2 in Scotland (5,665 km²), for a total of 20,294 km². The Cairngorms National Park makes up almost one fifth of the protected areas by itself (3,800 km²).
Germany (http://www.eupedia.com/directory/1709/2840/2841/2842/index.html)
14 national parks for a total area of 9,620 km², about half of which is used by the Wadden Sea National Parks (4,415 km²) running all the way between Denmark and the Netherlands.
On top of that come the bulk of 99 official nature parks comprising about 25% of the total land area of Germany (ca. 90,000 km²). This confirms the Germans as the most environment-conscious Europeans. No wonder that the Green movement started in Germany. The largest is the Nature Park of the Central and Northern Black Forest (3,750 km²).
France (http://www.eupedia.com/directory/434/435/452/index.html)
There are 6 national parks in Metropolitan France (12,872 km²) at the moment (+ 2 in project for 2010 and 2012) and 3 overseas national parks in the Guyane, Guadeloupe and Reunion (35,127 km²). There are 46 additional regional nature parks covering 70,000 km². In total that is some 118,000 km² of protected nature zones in France, or 17.5% of the national territory.
Italy (http://www.eupedia.com/directory/2967/3063/3067/index.html)
Italy possess no less than 25 national parks (approximately 15,000 km²) and a staggering 105 officially designated regional parks (+ a dozen non-official ones) covering 27,000 km², or a bit under 12% of the country's land area.
Spain
14 national parks covering 3,800 km². The largest is the Picos de Europa National Park, spreading over 646.60 km² and located between the autonomous regions of Castilla y León, Asturias, and Cantabria. It is not much for the EU's second largest country in area. A single of Germany or France's largest parks can exceed Spain's total national parks.
Sweden
Sweden currently has 29 national parks, and 13 more scheduled to open until 2013. Altogether the present parks cover ca 7,000 km². That's only 1.5% of the country's land area, although it should almost double by the end of 2013.
Norway
Norway is certainly one of the greenest country in Europe. It boasts 38 national parks (37,500 km²), including 7 on Svalbard, and a mind-blowing 1,701 nature reserves (3,418 km²), for a total of nearly 41,000 km². Nature parks and reserves make up 12% of Norway's mainland area.
Britain (http://www.eupedia.com/directory/8702/36365/36366/36367/index.html)
13 national parks in England & Wales (14,629 km²), 2 in Scotland (5,665 km²), for a total of 20,294 km². The Cairngorms National Park makes up almost one fifth of the protected areas by itself (3,800 km²).
Germany (http://www.eupedia.com/directory/1709/2840/2841/2842/index.html)
14 national parks for a total area of 9,620 km², about half of which is used by the Wadden Sea National Parks (4,415 km²) running all the way between Denmark and the Netherlands.
On top of that come the bulk of 99 official nature parks comprising about 25% of the total land area of Germany (ca. 90,000 km²). This confirms the Germans as the most environment-conscious Europeans. No wonder that the Green movement started in Germany. The largest is the Nature Park of the Central and Northern Black Forest (3,750 km²).
France (http://www.eupedia.com/directory/434/435/452/index.html)
There are 6 national parks in Metropolitan France (12,872 km²) at the moment (+ 2 in project for 2010 and 2012) and 3 overseas national parks in the Guyane, Guadeloupe and Reunion (35,127 km²). There are 46 additional regional nature parks covering 70,000 km². In total that is some 118,000 km² of protected nature zones in France, or 17.5% of the national territory.
Italy (http://www.eupedia.com/directory/2967/3063/3067/index.html)
Italy possess no less than 25 national parks (approximately 15,000 km²) and a staggering 105 officially designated regional parks (+ a dozen non-official ones) covering 27,000 km², or a bit under 12% of the country's land area.
Spain
14 national parks covering 3,800 km². The largest is the Picos de Europa National Park, spreading over 646.60 km² and located between the autonomous regions of Castilla y León, Asturias, and Cantabria. It is not much for the EU's second largest country in area. A single of Germany or France's largest parks can exceed Spain's total national parks.
Sweden
Sweden currently has 29 national parks, and 13 more scheduled to open until 2013. Altogether the present parks cover ca 7,000 km². That's only 1.5% of the country's land area, although it should almost double by the end of 2013.
Norway
Norway is certainly one of the greenest country in Europe. It boasts 38 national parks (37,500 km²), including 7 on Svalbard, and a mind-blowing 1,701 nature reserves (3,418 km²), for a total of nearly 41,000 km². Nature parks and reserves make up 12% of Norway's mainland area.