National Parks

A national park is an area of land reserved for conservation purposes. Individual nations can designate their national parks as they like, but it is usually done with the express purpose of preserving a natural habitat for environmental reasons and also often as a statement of national pride. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has several defining criteria for an area to qualify as a national park, including the presence of one or more ecosystems without interference from human activity, official steps being taken to prevent the exploitation or occupation of the area, visitors being allowed to enter for education and recreation, legal protection of the area, sufficient staff and budget to provide protection to the area, and a prohibition on the exploitation of natural resources in the park.