100 years of national parks in Europe
National parks form an important part of natural and cultural heritage of each country. Their main objective is to preserve invaluable and unique ecosystems, spectacular landscapes, rare wildlife, and rich cultural and historic legacy. Thanks to them, for example, we still have animals such as ibexes, chamois, European bisons, Iberian lynx, flying squirrels and many more roaming freely in the wild. Without them, we would have difficulty to achieve the protection of the amazing diversity of European nature and of its specific features shaped over millions of years by natural forces and over last thousands of years also by human hand.
National parks attract millions of visitors annually; tourism makes an indispensable contribution to their maintenance and development. They are especially popular with all sorts of nature and outdoor activity lovers. In 2009, it will be exactly 100 years since the first national parks were established in Europe – a group of nine parks in Sweden. Since then, the number has grown to 370 sites (excluding European overseas territories). Join us in the celebration and our
attempts to symbolically unite all European countries in their efforts to conserve common natural wealth and appreciate the diversity and value of European national parks.
Please send us an e-mail if you wish to learn more about the planned centennial activities or support Machaon's work in any way.
