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Protected areas cover more than one fifth of the land in the 39 countries working with the European Environment Agency (EEA). On International Biodiversity Day, the EEA encourages Europeans to find out more about their closest nature reserve or national park using a new interactive map.
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The European Environment Agency is compiling data about protected areas in Europe via the data flows on Natura 2000 and Nationally designated areas, reported by the countries. The material and analyses presented on these pages are based on the EEA report "Protected areas in Europe - an overview" from 2012.
The system of protected areas in Europe is complex, and in many cases, there is a complementarity and overlap between different designation‑types at various levels.
Environmental policy instruments important for the establishment of protected areas in Europe.
European policy regarding protected areas is mostly the product of initiatives from two main sources: the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, and the European Union itself. However, other international conventions have also been promoting the creation of protected areas e.g. Ramsar Convention, World Heritage Convention, Bonn Convention.
Protected areas have taken many forms historically, from medieval hunting reserves, to more modern national parks and nature reserves. These different forms reflected the different needs that protected areas were created to serve, whether it was protecting the resource of wild game, preserving natural beauty or, more recently, safeguarding biodiversity. The last century has seen a great increase in both the number of protected areas and the total surface area that has received protected designation.
Protected areas categories by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) a protected area can include any area of sea, lakes, rivers or land that has been identified as important for conservation of nature, and managed for this purpose. Some protected areas allow industry, extensive agriculture or fishing to occur within their boundaries, while others prohibit all of these activities.
The links below provide information, guidance, and best practice on management of protected areas.
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