Nature Parks
According to art. 27 para. 1 of Germany's Federal Nature Conservation Act, nature parks (Naturparke) are "areas that are to be developed and managed in a consistent way and that
- are large in size,
- consist mainly of landscape protection areas or nature conservation areas,
- are particularly suitable for recreational purposes by virtue of their landscape assets and are areas in which efforts are being made to encourage sustainable tourism,
- are intended for recreational purposes in accordance with the requirements of regional planning,
- serve the conservation, development or restoration of landscapes characterised by diverse uses, and of such landscapes' species and biotope diversity, and, to this end, are sites for endeavours toward sustained environmentally compatible land use, and
- are particularly well-suited to the promotion of sustainable regional development."
Nature parks are designated both to protect and conserve cultural landscapes with their diverse habitats and species – an objective mainly achieved through landscape protection areas and nature conservation areas – and for purposes of recreation, nature-friendly and environmentally compatible tourism, and sustainable land use.
Nature parks in Germany
According to information provided by the German states (Länder), Germany currently has 102 nature parks. Beyond that the nature park Eichsfeld-Hainich-Werratal (Thuringia) is up-to-date in the regulation procedure and further nature parks are current in establishment: nature park Muldenland (Saxony) and Peenetal (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern).
With a total area of 9.5 million ha, nature parks cover 27 percent of Germany's land surface. The share of land covered by nature parks increased by 33 percent (about 2.4 million ha) between 1998 and 2010. Protected areas account for some 56 percent of land within nature parks. Nature conservation areas account for about 5 percent of land in nature parks in Germany, although this figure varies across the country.
German nature parks remain very heterogeneous. There is large variation among nature parks and Länder regarding how the statutory aims of management and development are achieved. Reasons include differences in the general conditions provided by the responsible agencies and Länder, in Länder statutory requirements and choice of emphasis in nature park conceptual plans and charters, and in the focus of nature parks' supporting organisations. In some cases, nature park administrations are part of Länder environmental administrations; in others, the supporting organisation is a registered association (Verein) or a self-governing corporation set up by a group of local authorities (Zweckverband). Some Länder require the drafting of nature park plans. Provision should be made for sufficient funding and staffing for a preferably self-governing administration and for drafting and regular updating of nature park plans (see FORST & SCHERFOSE 2010 a).
A set of guidance notes on the drafting and updating of nature park plans (see VDN 2008) has been published as part of a research and development project, ‘Improved Implementation of Nature Park Plans’, initiated by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and funded with financial resources from the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.
In line with their objective of combining the protection and use of cultural landscapes, nature parks aim to play a greater role in integrated sustainable regional development. The 
"European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas" offers a basis for guidance in sustainable development for nature parks with regard to public experience of nature, recreation and sustainable regional development. By adopting measures along these lines, nature parks can fulfil their allotted tasks and objectives, and can do full justice to the vision of developing them to become large-scale landscapes able to serve as models for replication (see VDN 2009).
In this connection, the Federation of German Nature Parks (VDN) and Europarc Deutschland launched a nature parks quality drive in summer 2005. An R&D project funded by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation with resources provided by the Federal Environment Ministry produced a standardised national set of criteria for evaluating German nature parks. The quality drive played a major role in the many campaigns and events staged as part of Nature Park Year 2006, which commemorated 50 years of nature parks in Germany. The primary aim of the quality drive is to secure ongoing improvement in the work of nature parks. Some 65 nature parks were taking part in the quality drive by May 2010 (FORST 2010, VDN 2010 b). Best practice-Examples from the work of the German nature parks are found in beside standing new publication (FORST & SCHERFOSE 2010).
FORST, R. (2010): Die Qualitätsoffensive in den Nationalen Naturlandschaften. Naturparks - die Qualitätsoffensive wird fortgesetzt. - In: EUROPARC Deutschland e.V. (Hrsg.). - Fortschrittsbericht 2009/2010 Nationale Naturlandschaften. - Berlin: 45-48.
FORST, R. & SCHERFOSE, V. (2010 a): Entwicklung und Perspektiven deutscher Naturparke. - Naturschutz und Biologische Vielfalt 104: 189-195.
VDN - VERBAND DEUTSCHER NATURPARKE E.V. (Eds.) (2008): Optimierte Umsetzung von Naturparkplänen - Ein Leitfaden für die Praxis. - Bonn (VDN), 31 pp.
VDN - VERBAND DEUTSCHER NATURPARKE E.V. (Eds.) (2009): Naturparke in Deutschland - Aufgaben und Ziele. - Bonn (VDN), 32 pp.
VDN - VERBAND DEUTSCHER NATURPARKE E.V. (Eds.) (2010 a): Naturparke in Deutschland - Starke Partner für biologische Vielfalt - Bonn (VDN), 51 pp.
VDN - VERBAND DEUTSCHER NATURPARKE E.V. (Eds.) (2010 b): Qualitätsoffensive Naturparke. - Bonn (VDN), 96 pp.
