The reserve is located in the northeastern part of the Russian Plain. All the rivers of the reserve are left tributaries of the Volga, the largest of which are Kostroma and Unzha. Quite large areas of the reserve are occupied by swamps and wetlands, which is primarily due to the flat, leveled topography. The reserve has small forest rivers and no large lakes and rivers, which leads to a significant density of animals whose life is directly connected with water bodies - these are, first of all, otter, mink, and beaver.
The territory of the Katunsky and Altai nature reserves is included in the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List under the name “Golden Mountains of Altai” (1998). The absolute heights of the Katunsky Nature Reserve range from 1300 to 3280 m above sea level. The territory contains 135 lakes with an area of 151,664 hectares or more. In the highlands there are a large number of glaciers, with a total area of 283 square meters. km.
Shulgan-Tash State Nature Reserve in Bashkortostan, which has federal status. Located in the western foothills of the Southern Urals, in the mountain-forest belt, within the Burzyansky district. Total area - 225 sq. km. The rich landscape mosaic also determines the high diversity of flora. The relief is low mountain. Mixed broad-leaved and coniferous-deciduous forests occupy 92 percent of the territory.
The natural architectural and archaeological museum-reserve Divnogorye is located on the territory of Russia, in the Liskinsky district of the Voronezh region. The area of the museum-reserve is more than 11 km². From a geological point of view, the reserve consists of chalk deposits on the surface of the earth. The maximum height of the plateau above sea level reaches 181 meters, relative - 103 meters (the mouth of the Tikhaya Sosna River at the confluence with the Don, which flows at the foot of the plateau, is located at an altitude of 78 m above sea level). Due to the rather significant difference in altitude between the plateau and the floodplain of the Don and Tikhaya Sosna rivers, its microclimate differs significantly from the surrounding floodplain lowland.
The Kuznetsky Alatau State Nature Reserve is located in the south of Central Siberia, at its highest point - on the western descent of the ridge, at the intersection of Mezhdurechensky, Tisulsky and Novokuznetsky districts of the Kemerovo region. The Kuznetsky Alatau ridge itself extends over almost a third of the Kemerovo region. This ridge is a relief consisting of medium and high mountain ranges dissected by rivers.
The Kedrovaya Pad Nature Reserve is located in the Khasansky district of Primorsky Krai, between the western coast of the Amur Bay and the border with China, on the spurs of the East Manchurian mountain ranges, the Sukhorechensky and Gakkelevsky ridges, separating the Kedrovaya River basin from the basins of the Barabashevka and Narva rivers, flowing near the boundaries of the reserve.
The Lazovsky Nature Reserve is located on the southern spurs of the Sikhote-Alin, in the interfluve of the Kievka and Chernaya rivers. In terms of size and moisture regime, the mainland part of the territory of the Lazovsky Reserve, located north-west of the Zapovedny ridge. Almost the entire territory of the reserve is divided between two independent drainage basins of the Kievka and Chernaya rivers, flowing into the Sea of Japan. The remaining numerous rivers and streams of different sizes, directions and character are either tributaries of these rivers, or independently collect water from a narrow coastal strip, the average width of which is about 10 km, and flow directly into the Sea of Japan.
What to photograph: rivers, mountains, grove of relict yew. Some lakes have unique vegetation and other natural features.
The main part of the reserve's territory is represented by taiga forests of various types. On the coast of Lake Baikal, fragments of ancient relict steppes have been preserved; 50 species of mammals and about 240 species of birds live. The reserve is also famous for its high number of bears. In addition, here you can meet such rare and interesting birds as the white-tailed eagle, black stork, hump-nosed scoter, common scoter, and gray crane.
What to photograph: the source of the Lena River, Cape Ryty, a section of the coast sacred to local residents with a grandiose gorge, the remains of the oldest volcanoes on Earth - the mountain peaks of the Baikal ridge in the area of the Sredny and Verkhniy Kedrovy capes. 50 species of mammals, about 240 species of birds. Known for its high population of otters and brown bears.
The national park is located on the territory of Greater Sochi: from the borders with the Tuapse region, between the mouths of the Shepsi and Magri rivers in the northwest to the borders with Abkhazia in the southeast and from the Black Sea coast to the watershed line of the Main Caucasus Range. Most of the park's territory is occupied by mountains, dissected by river valleys. The foothill zone occupies a narrow strip along the Black Sea. About 40 rivers and streams of the Black Sea basin flow through the park.
What to photograph: varied landscape, unforgettable views and many exotic animals. A special feature is the abundance of rivers and streams, which create a huge number of canyons and waterfalls.
The Altai Nature Reserve is located in the mountains of Southern Siberia. This is the land of mountains and rushing mountain rivers, the kingdom of giant trees and the country of ancient wild animals. A walk through the mountain taiga landscapes of the reserve is fascinating in its unpredictability. Vertical belts, steppe, forest, subalpine and alpine, replacing each other as you climb the mountains, hide their secrets. Even the forests within the reserve are different. In the north there are practically only firs, to the south - cedars, in the south - deciduous trees.
What to photograph: peaks of the Altai mountains, Lake Teletskoye, alpine meadows. The territory is also home to lynxes, bears, rosemaries and 323 species of birds.
UK National Parks
Brecon Beacons National Park
The Brecon Beacons are located on a mountain range in South Wales and occupy a national park of approximately 1345 sq. km., the park contains the highest mountain in southern Britain. The Brecon Beacons translates to "Brecon Beacons", a name that comes from ancient times when people used fires lit on mountain tops to signal each other that enemies were approaching.
What to photograph: The park's mountains and moorlands look very breathtaking. In the mountains you will find many waterfalls. The park also contains many ancient monuments and castles.
Norfolk Broads
Broads National Park covers Norfolk and Suffolk. This is a large, protected wetland area of Great Britain that is home to some of the UK's rarest plants and animals. This is the third largest park in the UK, which occupies vast expanses of water. The park includes seven major rivers and 63 remains of medieval peat excavations.
What to photograph: The flat landscape makes the Norfolk Broads a very windy place, and the countryside is dotted with windmills that sit picturesquely on the water's edge. The park operates small yachts and boats that, for a small fee, will take you around the most beautiful areas, where you will undoubtedly be inspired by the richness of the wetlands and the diversity of birds.
The beautiful expanse of the Dartmoor moors in Devon covers a huge area of the UK. Dartmoor contains the largest concentration of Bronze Age artefacts in Britain and is home to many ancient stones and other monuments.
What to photograph: beautiful landscapes, cliffs, granite stones, all this makes the National Park an incredibly picturesque place. Dartmoor Park's iconic rock formation attracts the attention of photographers from all over the world.
The largest British national park, with an area of 4528 km2. The area is home to a high and massive mountain range, with four of Scotland's five highest mountains located within the park, and there are 55 peaks over 900m high. Overall, the Cairngorms occupy about six percent of Scotland.
What to photograph: The massive mountainous landscape is crossed by clear rivers with sparkling water. There is a Nestle lake in the park. Vast forests occupy the lower slopes, and the peaks are covered with ice most of the time. The park is home to many rare animals, with around 25 per cent of threatened species living in the Cairngorms. Here you can see red squirrel, deer, osprey, snowy owls, red partridge and eagles.
Lake District, often compared to the sea, the park is located in the mountainous region of Cumbria, in north-west England. The entire territory of England with an altitude of more than three thousand meters above sea level is within the territory of the National Park, including Scafell, the highest mountain in England. The deepest and longest lakes of England are also located here.
What to photograph: You can shoot landscapes and lakes, they are very breathtaking, especially in autumn.
This park in western Scotland is located in the Loch Lomond area, which represents the largest freshwater reserve in mainland Britain. The park contains 21 peaks with a height of more than 1000 meters and 19 peaks with a height of more than 2500 m, as well as two forest parks - Queen Elizabeth and Argyll.
What to photograph: numerous small lakes, mountains, beautiful wooded areas, small clearings, wildlife. Ben Lomond is one of the most photogenic mountain peaks. In the national park you may encounter deer, squirrel, otter and osprey.
Britain's oldest national park. It attracts around 10 million visitors a year, largely due to its proximity to a number of major cities in northern England, making it one of the UK's busiest national parks. The Peak District is conventionally divided into the northern Dark Peak, where most of the territory is occupied by swamps, and the South Peak, where most of the territory is occupied by limestone rocks.
What to photograph: The park's hills and cliffs attract the attention of visitors and photographers, and there are many valleys, streams, lakes and waterfalls. The Peak District has many interesting features dating back to the Industrial Revolution, with man-made fencing, roads and the remains of mills making for even more photographic appeal.
US National Parks
Grand Canyon, Arizona
The Grand Canyon is one of the iconic places in the United States of America. The Grand Canyon stretches almost 450 km in length. It was formed by the influence of the Colorado River over thousands of years. The National Park is famous for its picturesque desert landscapes.
Yellowstone, Wyoming
The first national park in the world, famous for its geysers, hot springs burst out from underground, making a unique impression on viewers. The park is home to many wildlife, including grizzly bears and moose.
Rocky Mountain, Montana
On the Canadian border, Rocky Mountain Park is home to about 130 lakes and is home to thousands of plant species and hundreds of animal species.
Everglades, Florida
The Everglades is a network of wetlands and forests and is home to 36 protected species, including panthers and American crocodiles.
Bryce Canyon, Utah
Bryce Canyon National Park is famous for its unique geological structures that cut the sky with narrow peaks. The structures were formed by weathering and erosion by sediment flow.
Death Valley, California-Nevada border
Death Valley is the hottest and driest place in North America. Here you will discover a harsh desert landscape that, despite everything, attracts many species of animals.
Denali, Alaska
Denali is located around the highest mountain in North America. Denali's landscapes are a mixture of forest, tundra, glaciers and rocks.
This dramatic landscape includes two active volcanoes: Kilauea, one of the most active in the world, and Mauna Loa.
Yosemite, California
Yosemite is famous for its attractive El Capitan and Half Dome cliffs. There are beautiful steep waterfalls and ancient redwood trees here.
Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico
The underground park is a huge cave with an area of 1220 m, 191 m wide and 78 m high. Photographers here will be amazed by the beautiful limestone cave landscapes.
National parks in Europe
Saxon Switzerland, Germany
The park is distinguished by extremely beautiful rocky landscapes and canyons. Ancient coniferous trees grow in Saxon Switzerland.
The Swiss National Park is the oldest park in the Alps and provides protection to many rare animals. Mountain goats, marmots and countless varieties of birds live here.
Teide, Tenerife island, Spain
The volcanic peak of Teide is the most visited national park in Spain. It is known for its surreal landscapes and amazing views of the surrounding Canary Islands.
Plitvice Lakes, Croatia
A series of 16 lakes of different colors amaze the imagination of visitors coming to the Croatian National Park. The shades of water in the lakes vary from crystalline green to dark blue.
Vatnajokull, Iceland
The largest glacier in Europe is located in Vatnajökull National Park. The glacier occupies about 8% of the entire territory of the country.
Cevennes, France
Cevennes is located in the mountainous region of France. Here you will see picturesque mountain landscapes and gorges. There is a chain of cave systems within the park.
Olympus, Greece
Here is the famous Mount Olympus, the highest mountain and the legendary home of the Greek gods. The park is rich in history, culture and ecological diversity.
Abruzzo, Italy
The Abruzzo Park is home to huge granite peaks and beech forests. This mountain wilderness is home to brown bear, wild lynx, wolves and royal eagles.
Tatra Mountains, Slovakia
The oldest national park in Slovakia covers 741 square kilometers of area. Pines and other coniferous trees grow here. There are many lakes in the park, and a wide variety of wild animals live here.
Burren, Ireland
The Burren is the smallest of Ireland's six national parks. The area of the park is only 15 square kilometers, but despite this there is something to see.
National parks of the world
Fiordland, New Zealand
The snow-capped mountain peaks of the national park will inspire any photographer. Most of the plots of the film The Lord of the Rings were filmed here. The park is home to dolphins, fur seals and penguins.
Kruger National Park, South Africa
This park is one of the best places to visit to see all the flavor of the African continent. Lions, African elephants, buffalos, leopards and rhinoceroses live here.
Banff, Canada
It is Canada's oldest National Park and features rich mountain ranges, densely forested regions, glaciers and ice fields. Banff is home to grizzly bears, elk and bighorn sheep.
Goreme, Türkiye
Turkey's national park inspires photographers around the world with its surreal landscapes, caves and bizarre hills.
Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
The island's wildlife has developed in isolation over millions of years, resulting in unique animals and rare plant species growing in the park.
Most of the park is occupied by mountains, one of which is the highest point on our planet - Mount Everest. The territory of the park amazes with rivers, glaciers and beautiful mountain landscapes.
Torres del Paine, Chile
Torres del Paine National Park is home to the impressive Andean peaks. Lakes, glaciers and mountain glades are presented to the attention of photographers. Here you can find guanacos, pumas and rare birds.
Kakadu, Australia
Kakadu National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park is home to impressive waterfalls, rivers and swamps, and is home to many wild animals, including saltwater crocodiles.
Iguazu, Argentina / Iguazu, Brazil
We are talking about two Iguazu parks at once, one of which is located in Brazil, and the second in Argentina. The hallmark of the parks is a chain of beautiful waterfalls surrounded by jungle. Visitors are impressed by the huge variety of birds living around Iguazu Falls.
Serengeti, Tanzania
Serengeti National Park is famous for the annual migration of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle that passes through the park.
Fuji Hakone Izu, Japan
Japan's most popular national park includes views of the dormant Mount Fuji located in the center of the park. Fuji Hakone Izu is shrouded in clouds in spring and summer.
Zhangjiajie, China
Unique and inimitable mountain landscapes await visitors to Zhangjiajie Park in China. The park is home to tall sandstone pillars, the result of years of erosion caused by ice expansion.
The national park is named after a hunter who gave up his job and began to protect nature in order to save the Bengal tiger. It is the oldest national park in India and is home to Himalayan bears, leopards and elephants.
Canaima, Venezuela
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 of 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 an open-air museum - there are 350 Byzantine churches carved from the rocks. (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 is the 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 the famous movie Avatar was filmed. (Photo: 123 RF). 
22. Twenty-second place: Naejangsan National Park in South Korea - it is especially beautiful in the fall. 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).
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 which are intended for use for environmental, educational, scientific and cultural purposes and for regulated tourism.
National parks are legal entities that do not have profit as the goal of their activities, that is, non-profit organizations and are created in the form of an environmental institution financed from the federal budget.
Federal Law of March 14, 1995 N 33-FZ, Art. 12, 16
Excellent definition
Incomplete definition ↓
NATIONAL PARKS
specially protected natural areas, including natural complexes and objects of special ecological, historical and aesthetic value and intended for use for environmental, educational, scientific and cultural purposes and for regulated tourism. Like nature reserves, N.p. relate exclusively to federal property, have the status of a legal entity, are non-profit organizations and are financed from the federal budget. N.p. are established by a decree of the Government of the Russian Federation with the consent of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation to classify the corresponding territories as objects of federal property on the basis of a proposal from the state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and the specially authorized state body of the Russian Federation in the field of environmental protection. Relations in the field of organization, protection and use N.p. regulated by the Federal Law “On Specially Protected Natural Territories” dated March 14, 1995 and the RSFSR Law “On Environmental Protection” dated December 19, 1991. In the territories of N.P. a differentiated regime of special protection is established, taking into account their natural, historical, cultural and other features. For these purposes, on t e r r i t o r i and N.p. functional zones are distinguished (for example, protected area, specially protected zone, educational tourism zone, recreational zone). The mode set for each zone is determined based on the zone category. A feature of the legal regime N.p. is the presence of a list of prohibited activities, in particular, exploration and development of mineral resources; activities that lead to disturbance of soil cover, geological outcrops, and hydrological regime; construction of main roads, pipelines and other communications; final fellings, passage fellings, preparation of resin, commercial hunting and fishing; collection of biological collections, industrial procurement of wild plants; movement and parking of mechanized vehicles not related to the operation of the settlement, driving of domestic animals, rafting of timber along watercourses and reservoirs; organization of mass sports and entertainment events, tourist camps and lighting fires outside specially designated areas. Another feature of the legal regime N.p. is the allocation of zones of traditional extensive natural resource management in areas inhabited by the indigenous population, where traditional economic activities are allowed, as well as related types of use of natural resources in agreement with the park directorates. Most N.p. is under the jurisdiction of the Federal Forestry Service, forestry authorities of the relevant constituent entities of the Russian Federation, N.p. “Losiny Ostrov” and “Pereslavsky” are subordinate to the executive authorities of Moscow and the Yaroslavl region, respectively. N.p. - one of the most common categories of specially protected natural areas in many countries of the world. International model N.p. developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). However, in practice, two directions prevail in the development of scientific research. - environmental and recreational, which determines different national approaches to their organization. If in the USA, for example, the lands of N.p. belong to the state, then in European countries many parks are organized on private lands (Great Britain, France, Spain). There are some differences in the legal regime for the protection and use of N.P. According to the modern modification of the concept of the N.P., proclaimed by the IUCN, the territory within the boundaries of the N.P. must remain undisturbed and closed to commercial use, timber and mineral development, hydraulic engineering, grazing and hunting. Development of tourism in N.P. should also be reasonably limited to preserve the quality of natural ecosystems. Lit.: Granin A.A. National parks in the USSR: problems and prospects. M., 1991. A.A. Granin
So, the basis of the system of specially protected natural areas in our country are nature reserves. However, the presence on their territory of citizens who are not employees of the reserves is strictly prohibited. Therefore, in addition to protected areas, state national parks were created. In addition, despite the universal recognition of the importance of specially protected natural areas, there is a need to obtain an economic effect from their functioning. The creation of a state network of national parks is aimed at solving this problem.
National natural park(according to the Law of Ukraine “On the Natural Reserve Fund of Ukraine”) - these are environmental, recreational, cultural, educational, scientific and research institutions of national importance, which are created for the purpose of conservation, restoration and effective use of natural complexes and objects that have special environmental, health, historical, cultural, scientific, educational and aesthetic value.
Multifunctionality is inherent in national parks to a much greater extent than other types of protected natural areas. However, the main purpose of the national park is to create conditions for recreation, which implies the presence of economic areas, the only limitation of which is the prohibition of any activity that could cause harm to natural complexes and cultural and historical sites. Therefore, not all national parks can be called corners of untouched nature.
Functions of the national park:
Preservation of valuable natural, historical and cultural complexes and objects;
Creation of conditions for organized tourism, recreation and other types of recreational activities in natural conditions in compliance with the regime of protection of protected natural complexes and objects;
Conducting scientific research on natural complexes and their changes in conditions of recreational use, developing scientific recommendations on issues of environmental protection and efficient use of natural resources;
Carrying out environmental educational work.
It is no coincidence that the task of preserving nature comes first. This puts the national park in a number of specially protected natural areas of the second rank after the reserve and indicates its purpose - from resource conservation (preservation and enrichment of natural and recreational resources) to a reference reserve. After all, national parks are designed to preserve unique examples of nature and show them to people. Actually, based on these considerations, the idea of their creation developed. Today, among the unique creations of nature, not only geographical phenomena are distinguished - high mountains, deep lakes, glaciers, impressive waterfalls and canyons, but also representatives of the flora and fauna. Due to the active expansion of anthropogenic landscapes, traditional ideas of perpetuating natural and historical memorials in national parks began to lose ground to another, no less urgent goal - organizing environmental education for vacationers (stimulating interest in wildlife). Understanding of personal responsibility for its preservation and increase. This is the recreational value of the national park.
On the territory of national natural parks, taking into account the environmental, health, scientific, recreational, historical, cultural and other values of natural complexes and objects, a differentiated (mixed) regime of their protection is established according to functional zoning:
protected area – intended for the protection and restoration of the most valuable natural complexes, the regime of which is determined in accordance with the requirements established for natural reserves;
regulated recreation area– within its borders, short-term recreation and health improvement of the population, inspection of picturesque and memorable places is carried out; in this zone it is allowed to develop tourist routes and ecological trails; logging of main use forests, commercial fishing, etc. are prohibited;
stationary recreation area– designed to accommodate hotels, campsites and other facilities serving park visitors;
economic zone – within its borders economic activities are carried out, there are settlements, public utility facilities of the park, etc. However, the construction of roads, power and communication lines, traffic outside the established ones, etc. is prohibited.
Zoning of the territory of each national park, recreational and other activities on its territory are carried out in accordance with the “Regulations on the National Natural Park and the Project for Organizing the Territory of the National Natural Park”. Today there are 15 national natural parks in Ukraine:
Carpathian (Ivano-Frankivsk region, created in 1980)
Shatsky (Volynskaya, 1983)
Synevyr (Zakarpatskaya, 1989)
Azovo - Sivashsky (Kherson, 1993)
Vizhnitsky (Chernovetskaya, 1995)
Podolsk Tovtry (Khmelnytskyi, 1996)
Holy Mountains (Donetsk, 1997)
Yavorovsky (Lviv, 1998)
Desnyansko-Starogutsky (Sumskaya, 1999)
Skolov Beskydy (Lviv, 1999)
Uzhansky (Zakarpattia, 1999)
Hutsulshchyna (Ivano-Frankivsk, 2002)
Ichnyansky (Chernigov, 2004)
Galitsky (Ivano-Frankivsk, 2004)
Gomelshan forests (Kharkovskaya, 2004).
And the oldest national parks in the world are Yosemite (1864) and Yellowstone (1872) national parks (USA).
Yosemite National Park located in the USA, California, in the Sierra Nevada mountains, the country's first protected landscape since 1864, a national park since 1890. Area 304 thousand hectares. Coniferous forests (thousand-year-old giant sequoia dendron trees) and about 80 species of mammals are subject to protection.
Yellowstone National Park is located in the USA, the states of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho. Area 898.3 thousand hectares. The park is part of an area of active volcanic activity, where rare natural phenomena are observed - geysers, of which there are about 200. The most famous of them is Old Feyiful, which operates almost every hour for 5 minutes and throws a stream of hot water and steam into the air to a height of up to 30 - 45 m. The following are subject to protection: hot springs, petrified trees, coniferous forests, mountain meadows, as well as such animal species as: black-tailed deer, bears (baribal, grizzly), etc.; bald eagle nesting site.
Following Yellowstone Park, national parks began to be created in Canada, Africa, and Australia. Currently, national parks abroad play a major role in nature conservation in the broad sense. Today there are 2,300 national parks in the world.
In the former USSR, national parks began to be included in the system of specially protected natural areas in the 70s. Now there are about 20 national natural parks in Ukraine.
The world's first natural reserve in the modern sense, or national park, was established on March 1, 1872 in the USA. Its creators were motivated by purely aesthetic motives: not long before, the expedition of naturalist Ferdinand Hayden discovered thousands of amazing geysers, picturesque waterfalls, canyons, lakes and many other beauties and wonders in the Yellowstone River valley in the wild and uninhabited part of Wyoming. The photographs of William Jackson and especially the colorful landscapes of Thomas Moran attached to Hayden's report made such an impression on Congress that they decided to preserve these lands forever in their original form. Why did he establish a new institution that has never existed anywhere - a national park?
It seems incredible that in the era of the undivided dominance of the pathos of “conquering wild nature,” a huge territory was taken out of economic circulation only because of its beauty. But no one laid claim to these lands at that time - there was much more free space in the American West than there were people willing to develop it. On the other hand, the young state, which had not yet turned a century old, desperately needed its own sights and monuments - if not historical, then natural. The creation of Yellowstone Park set a major precedent: for the first time, the preservation of undisturbed nature was not a by-product of achieving other goals (fulfilling religious requirements or conserving valuable resources for their subsequent use), but an independent and primary purpose of preserving the territory.
For some time, Yellowstone Park was the only one of its kind, but already in the 1890s it had counterparts in the United States - Sequoia and Yosemite national parks. Even earlier, in 1885-1886, the first national parks were created in neighboring Canada. In the same era, similar reserves began to appear in the Asian and African colonies of European states: Gunung Gede Pangrango in Indonesia (1889), the South African national parks of Saint Lucia, Umfolozi, Hluhluwe (1897) and Sabi (1898), now known as Kruger National Park. And in the first decade of the twentieth century, this form of nature conservation appeared in Europe. In 1902, the Dobrach reserve was created in Austria-Hungary, and in 1909, the Abisko, Sarek and Harpyttan reserves were created in Sweden.
All of these parks (and many others that arose in the 1910-1930s) were organized on approximately the same principle as Yellowstone - they included areas with picturesque landscapes and a large number of natural attractions. The main task of such parks was to provide citizens with access to these beauties, including in the future. That is, from the very beginning, mass visitation of the parks by the public was assumed, and the naturalness and undisturbed nature of natural ecosystems were, at best, one of the many qualities taken into account. Sometimes they managed without them altogether. For example, the task of the mentioned Swedish national park "Garpyttan" was to preserve not the natural, but the traditional agricultural landscape. In modern domestic nomenclature, this corresponds not to a natural reserve, but to a historical and cultural reserve.
In Russia, attempts to preserve undisturbed natural areas began to be undertaken around the same time, but their initiators set themselves somewhat different goals. If in most developed countries hunting had turned into a sport for wealthy people by the beginning of the 20th century, in Russia the hunting of fur-bearing animals remained a serious sector of the economy, which employed many professional hunters. And by the 1900s, even the endless Siberian taiga was unable to provide a sustainable “harvest.” Hunters have previously had to temporarily exclude some areas from hunting, turning them into natural game nurseries. The new situation required a sharp increase in the size of such zones and provision of protection for them. Unlike previous small reserves, such territories began to be called nature reserves. For their creation and protection, an agreement between the fishermen themselves was no longer enough - the state had to ensure the conservation. Work on such projects was carried out on the Angara, in the Sayan Mountains, in southern Primorye, but before its collapse, the Russian Empire managed to create only one reserve - Barguzinsky, officially established on January 20, 1917. However, a number of projects prepared at that time were later implemented by the Soviet government.
RUSSIA'S SPECIAL PATH
Somewhat earlier, in the early 1890s, the famous Russian soil scientist Vasily Dokuchaev, who watched with horror the disappearance of the last remnants of the European black soil steppes, proposed preserving several surviving areas of untouched steppe as a standard. Of course, for this it was necessary to provide them with complete immunity for all eternity.
Unfortunately, “eternity” turned out to be too short: none of the “scientific reserve sites” created by Dokuchaev himself in the Voronezh, Donetsk and Kherson steppes, for various reasons, even survived the First World War. During the years of the revolution and the Civil War, the same fate befell the plots created according to the Dokuchaev model on the estate of Countess Panina in the Saratov province and in the famous Askania-Nova - the estate of the Falz-Fein barons, which they turned into a natural park.
However, the real reason for the failure of this project, which was ahead of its time, was not the instability of the Russian economic and political situation. Dokuchaev was fatally mistaken in scale: the area of his “steppe standards” was only a few tens of hectares. Today we know that the steppe can exist sustainably only when herds of wild ungulates, which need hundreds of square kilometers to live, graze in it.
But even if Dokuchaev knew about this, he still would not be able to change anything: in the world there were no longer such expanses of the grass sea, nor its four-legged guardians. The last tour died back in 1627. And the last time a wild tarpan was encountered by a person in the wild was several years before the foundation of the Dokuchaev sites.
Nevertheless, it was Dokuchaev’s ideas of a model reserve (in modern terminology - an environmental monitoring site), absolute inviolability and constant scientific work as its main task that formed the basis of the ideology of the Soviet reserve business. This did not contradict the idea of the reserve as a natural nursery for game animals, but there could be no mass tourism in such conditions - even the reserve’s employees had the right to be on its territory only for a specific purpose and with the knowledge of the management. This understanding of nature reserves took root only in the USSR - nowhere else in the world did the taking of natural areas under protection imply a complete ban on visiting them.
From a nature conservation point of view, this is very attractive. Much later, some foreign experts even envied Soviet reserves, freed from hordes of tourists and having the opportunity to focus exclusively on the protection and study of flora and fauna. However, in reality, the requirement of “absolute reserve” was, at best, an ideal to which one should strive. It was inevitable to build housing, outbuildings, laboratories, etc. on the territory of the reserves. Their employees planted vegetable gardens at their homes and kept livestock. Soviet reserves were not completely closed to visitors either. Even a complete stranger, who showed up without prior agreement and did not represent any organization, was almost never expelled from the reserve if he limited himself to walking around its territory. And some reserves even had official tourist routes, which were very popular. That is, many reserves played the role of national parks that were absent in the country.
Deviations from the ideal of “absolute inviolability” were not limited to this. In the USSR, since the 1920s, experiments have been carried out on the acclimatization of various animal species: muskrat, nutria, American mink and others. Nature reserves, as a rule, served as the basis for this work - it was there that batches of “invaders” were released into the wild, the dynamics of their spread were recorded and, if possible, they helped it. At the same time, in the reserves there was a fight against “harmful animals,” primarily wolves. They were not only shot all year round without any restrictions, but also exterminated with the help of traps and poisoned baits - from which not only wolves died. Probably, it was the widespread use of poison in the mid-1950s that was the last straw that completed the extermination of the leopard in the Western Caucasus.
The involvement of nature reserves in the “transformation of nature” was especially intensive in the 1940s and the first half of the 1960s. In the reserves, herbicides were tested, cultivated plants were sown, and experiments were conducted on crossing wild ungulates with livestock. The apotheosis of this policy was the actual destruction of the reserve system in 1951, when their number was reduced by more than half, and the total area by more than 11 times.
THE ROADS CONVERSE
Meanwhile, the concept of national parks was developing in the rest of the world. Since the 1920s, they have gradually begun to move from simple restrictions on economic activity to serious scientific work and the targeted restoration of rare and endangered species. The pioneer here can be considered the American taxidermist Karl Ekely, who not only achieved the creation of the Alberta National Park in the then Belgian Congo in 1925 to save the last surviving gorillas, but also made the center of the reserve’s activities not tourism, but scientific research. As experience in the parks accumulated, scientific and environmental activities played an increasingly important role in them. The principles of conservation have also changed: the initiative to take certain natural areas under protection increasingly came from scientists. And when choosing a site, an increasingly important role was played not by picturesqueness, but by undisturbed nature - exactly what guided the creators of Soviet nature reserves.
In the USSR, where the network of nature reserves had been gradually healing its wounds since the 1960s, the view on nature reserves was also changing. Since 1971, national parks have been created in the country. Protective and buffer zones emerge around nature reserves, the regime of which is similar to that of a national park. The two concepts of protected natural areas have evolved towards each other. The reforms of the 1990s spurred the process of transformation of nature reserves: finding themselves without money and reliable government protection, they were forced to look for new sources of funding. At this time, visitor reception centers, souvenir shops and other attributes of national parks appear in almost all Russian nature reserves.
Today, almost all countries have accepted the point of view according to which a modern reserve should simultaneously be a model of natural ecosystems, a refuge for endangered species, a place for regular research, a recreation area and educational tourism, and an educational center.
RESERVED GLOSSARY
Specially protected natural areas (SPNA)- areas of land, water surface and air space above them, where natural complexes and objects are located that have special environmental, scientific, cultural, aesthetic, recreational and health value and are withdrawn by decisions of public authorities in whole or in part from economic use with the establishment of a special regime security
Reserve- according to Russian legislation, this is a category of specially protected natural areas of federal significance, completely and indefinitely withdrawn from economic use in order to preserve and study natural processes and phenomena, rare and unique natural systems, plant and animal species. This area is closed to the public.
Reserve- a type of protected area in which (unlike nature reserves), with limited use of natural resources, not the natural complex as a whole is protected, but only some of its parts: flora or fauna, certain species of animals and plants, or historical, memorial or geological objects .
National Park— Protected natural areas, including natural complexes and objects that have special ecological, historical and aesthetic value, and intended for use for environmental, educational, scientific and cultural purposes, as well as for regulated tourism.
There are four types of national parks in Russia:
OPEN TYPE, where all or almost all of the area is accessible to the public;
RESORT TYPE— around climatic or balneological resorts, where public access may be partially limited;
SEMI-CLOSED TYPE, where visitors are not allowed into most of the territory and it operates as a nature reserve;
RESERVED NATIONAL PARKS, almost completely closed to tourism and preserved in the interests of science.
RESERVE- a territory in which one species of animals or plants, or a group of species, or an entire natural complex is protected. Thus, the term is largely synonymous with game reserve or nature reserve.
