National Parks Photos

Features preserved
National parks are usually located in places which have been largely undeveloped, and often feature areas with exceptional native animals, plants and ecosystems (particularly endangered examples of such), biodiversity, or unusual geological features. Occasionally, national parks are declared in developed areas with the goal of returning the area to resemble its original state as closely as possible. In some countries, such as England and Wales, areas designated as a national park are not wilderness, nor owned by the government, and can include substantial settlements and land uses which are often integral parts of the landscape.

Park mandates
Most national parks have a dual role in offering a refuge for wildlife and as popular tourist areas. Managing the potential for conflict between these two roles can become problematic, particularly as tourists often generate revenue for the parks which, in turn, are spent on conservation projects. Parks also serve as reserves for substantial natural resources, such as timber, minerals and other valuable commodities. The balance of the demand for extraction of these resources, against the damage this might cause, is often a very important challenge in national park management. National parks have been subject to illegal logging and other exploitation, sometimes because of political corruption. This threatens the integrity of many valuable habitats.