A nature reserve (natural reserve, nature preserve, natural preserve) is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. Nature reserves may be designated by government institutions in some countries, or by private landowners, such as charities and research institutions, regardless of nationality. Nature reserves fall into different IUCN categories depending on the level of protection afforded by local laws.
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King Devanampiya Tissa of Sri Lanka established one of the world's earliest wildlife sanctuaries in the 3rd century BC.[1] However, dating back to antiquity there are various cultural practices that equate roughly to the establishment and maintaining of reserved areas for biota including fish, waterfowl and other animals. These would often have a religious underpinning—for example the 'evil forest' areas of West Africa were forbidden to humans, who were threatened with spiritual attack if they went there. Sacred areas taboo from human entry to fishing and are known by many ancient cultures worldwide.[2]
In the modern era, the Drachenfels (Siebengebirge) is credited as being the first nature reserve. The site was bought by the Prussian State in 1836 to protect it from further quarrying. The first major nature reserve was Yellowstone National Park, followed by the Royal National Park near Sydney, Australia and Il'menskii zapovednik of Soviet Russia in 1920—the first of its kind set up by a federal government entirely for the scientific study of nature.[3]
There are 29 nature reserves in Egypt which cover 12% of Egyptian land. Those nature reserves were built according to the laws no. 102/1983 and 4/1994 for protection of the Egyptian nature reserve. Egypt announced a plan from to build 40 nature reserves from 1997 to 2017, to help protect the natural resources and the culture and history of those areas. The largest nature reserve in Egypt is Gebel Elba (35,600 square kilometres (13,700 sq mi)) in the southeast, on the Red Sea coast.
In 1995 Germany had 5,314 nature reserves (German: Naturschutzgebiete) covering 6,845 km2 (2,643 sq mi), the largest total areas being in Bavaria with 1,416 km2 (547 sq mi) and Lower Saxony with 1,275 km2 (492 sq mi).
In Hungary there are 10 national Parks, more than 15 nature reserves and more than 250 protected areas.
The oldest nature reserve in Poland seems to be the Białowieża Forest, which is now protected as a national park. The forest was declared a hunting reserve in 1541. When Poland regained independence in 1918, there were 39 natural reserves established within its borders. As of 2008, Poland has 1407 nature reserves of areas ranging from 0.5 to 5,000 hectares (1.2 to 12,000 acres). Most of the reserves are located in the mountains in southern Poland.
There are some differences between the regulations for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, which are separately managed.
At the end of March 2004, there were 215 NNRs (National Nature Reserves) in England with a total area of 879 square kilometres. The Reserves are scattered through England, from Lindisfarne in Northumberland to The Lizard in Cornwall. Nearly every rural county has at least one. Many NNRs contain nationally important populations of rare flowers, ferns and mosses, butterflies and other insects, and nesting and wintering birds. Examples include unique alpine plants at Upper Teesdale and the field of Snake's Head Fritillaries at North Meadow, Cricklade, Wiltshire.
There are now over 1050 LNRs (Local Nature Reserves) in England. They range from windswept coastal headlands, ancient woodlands and flower-rich meadows to former inner-city railways, long-abandoned landfill sites and industrial areas now re-colonised by wildlife. In total they cover almost 40,000 ha—an impressive natural resource which makes an important contribution to England's biodiversity. A good example is Rye Harbour Nature Reserve in East Sussex, where a network of footpaths enables visitors to explore shingle, saltmarsh, saline lagoon, reedbed and grazing marsh habitats.
Through the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991 the Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) was established in 1992 as a Government body, responsible to the Scottish Government Ministers and through them to the Scottish Parliament. At 31 March 2008 there were 65 Scottish NNRs with a total area of approximately 1330 square kilometres. Following Section 21 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 the Local Authorities have the exclusive statutory power to establish an LNR in consultation with the SNH.[4]
By the end of 2009 there were 10 nature reserves (Kyrgyz: корук, koruk) in Kyrgyzstan covering 600,000 hectares (6,000 km2) or about 3% of the total area of the country.
In New Zealand a number of separate distinctions are made for the term nature reserves. Wilderness areas, National Parks, scenic reserves, scientific reserves and forest parks are all types of nature reserves with varying degrees of protection. A comparatively new concept in wildlife preservation, pioneered in New Zealand, is the Ecological Island.
There are around 100 nature reserves (Russian: заповедник, zapovednik) in Russia, covering some 330,000 square kilometres (130,000 sq mi), or about 1.4% of the country's total area. A few of them predate the October Revolution of 1917, but most have been created during the Soviet Union era. There are also natural protected areas where only certain species are protected, or only certain activities are prohibited; those are known as zakaznik (Russian: заказник).
South Africa is well known for its many reserves, including Shamwari, Londolozi, Sanbona and Lalibela. It currently has 20 national parks covering 3,700,000 hectares (37,000 km2), about 3% of the total area of South Africa. The best-known is Kruger National Park, which is also the oldest (proclaimed in 1898), and the largest, at nearly 2,000,000 hectares (20,000 km2). The Kruger Park and Table Mountain National Park are two of South Africa's most visited tourist attractions. It also has a number of World Heritage Sites and peace parks, as well as many provincial and private parks.
In the U.S. the United States Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for managing many nature reserves including National Wildlife Refuges. State and local governments administer others and some belong to private trusts, which are funded through personal donations. There are currently 2,205 preservations in the United States. Private nature reserves exist with land excluded from private land trusts, and maintained at the sole cost of the proprietor. Wilbur Hot Springs' Dr. Richard Louis Miller donated 1,800 acres (7.3 km2) of land in this manner, and is an example of this type of private nature reserve.