The Concept of a Natural Park in Baden-Württemberg (Germany): The Case of the Upper Danube Nature Park

Abstract

In practice, Nature Parks (in Germany) are the most inefficient method of nature conservation» (Jedicke, 1990, p. 153). In actual fact, although in theory they may be a form of conservation, the German authors consulted do not usually consider them as such, but rather as a form of promoting tourism, wich constantly clashes with the interests of nature conservation.

German Nature Parks represent the frustration of an originally ambitious concept of conservation and, for that very reason, and because they are the only means of conservation in Germany wich permits an integrated approach to nature conservation over substantial areas of inhabited land, they have been an object of intense debate and criticism and there are many proposals for reforming them.
In Baden-Wiirttemberg the Upper Danube Nature Park is important both for its ecological merits and its scenary. For this reason the conflicts between recreational use and necessary conservation are particularly frequent. However, this park has also been one of the first in adopting measures to overcome these problems. All these features made it particularly suitable for a case study.