Thayatal National Park, Austria, August 18, 2001 — The Thayatal National Park, in Austria, located on the Thaya River on the border between the Czech Republic and Austria, used to be the boundary of the Iron Curtain, separating East from West. With the fall of the Iron Curtain, this area is now a transboundary protected area, with the Thayatal National Park on the Austrian side and the Podyji National Park on the Czech Republic side. Where there once was conflict now there is successful cooperation in the management of this shared ecosystem for conservation.
The Thayatal National Park was the venue for a ceremony on the 18th August for the official recognition of this site as an IUCN Protected Areas Category II - National Park. This recognition follows a number of years of hard work by local staff and the Austrian Government (at both state and federal levels) in improving the level of management of the site to the stage where the management was at a level appropriate to official designation as a National Park.
The official designation followed an expert IUCN mission to the site and review by an expert High level Panel, comprising IUCN senior staff and the WCPA Vice Chair for Europe. The IUCN mission to the site commented favourably on the efforts of local staff to improve management at this site and also in relation to the high level of involvement of local people in the management of the park.
The ceremony brought together staff from both protected areas, the relevant Minister from the State Government, high-level government officials and local people. It was a celebration of the role of the National Park in the life of the community and was recognition of the vital role of the National Park in supporting tourism in the region and locally as well as providing many other benefits.
IUCN has over the last 25 years worked to develop international criteria for protected area categories around the world. Through the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, guidelines have been developed to assist countries to apply a consistent terminology to protected areas. The six Categories are based on the objectives for managing the area. A National Park, Category II, is defined as a natural area of land and or sea, designated to:
a) protect the ecological integrity of one or more ecosystems for present and future generations
b) exclude exploitation or occupation inimical to the purposes of designation of the area and
c) provide a foundation for spiritual, scientific, educational, recreational and visitor opportunities, all of which must be environmentally and culturally compatible.
Since the system of categories has been designed to permit international comparison, IUCN has played a key role in the consistent application of these categories. The UN List of National Parks and Protected Areas uses the IUCN criteria.
Other National Parks with IUCN Category II listing are Yellowstone National Park, USA, Ras Mohammed National Park, Egypt, Tongariro National Park, New Zealand, Waterton National Park, Canada. In contrast, Dartmoor "National Park" in the UK, while called a national park does not fit the IUCN Category II. While it is a landscape of great scenic beauty and significant biological diversity, it owes its origins largely to traditional hill farming practices, which continue to today.
For more information, contact David Sheppard, Head, IUCN Programme on Protected Areas and Secretary-General 2003 World Parks Congress.
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