Differences between natural park and national park

differences between natural park and national park

The human being established different categories of protection for natural spaces. In this way, it is possible to protect biodiversity and habitats to conserve the environment. Among the categories of protection we have certain differences between natural park and national park. These protection regimes are often confused by the population.

For this reason, we are going to dedicate this article to telling you what the main differences between a natural park and a national park are.

What is a national park

parque natural

The concept of a national park is associated with a geographical area, whether terrestrial or aquatic, that is protected in a special way to improve its conservation due to its endemic richness in flora and fauna. This protection refers to certain restrictions, such as not being able to build in these areas, and not carrying out activities that are harmful to the environment, or for example, visitors are limited, they can enter inside for a certain time and must be in the special vehicle for which they are enabled, not in their own private car.

Likewise, National parks have significant scientific value in addition to their environmental value. In general, it refers to the presence of native species typical of the area, so that scientific interest, especially biological interest, is also an impulse to protect the area without altering the ecosystem as much as possible and respecting its perfect conditions. Finally, as its name indicates, another characteristic of national parks is that management is generally carried out by the state government, the national government, hence the name.

What is a natural park

national park

Like the national parks, Natural parks are spaces that must receive special treatment to protect said spaces due to their special ecosystems of flora and fauna. In this sense, the same protection measures already mentioned or at least very similar measures are considered.

However, unlike the situation in national parks, wildlife parks often do not have such obvious native species present. Therefore, despite being a space with great natural wealth, they are not so important from the scientific point of view, since the species that can be found in its territory are also present in other geographical areas or parks.

Finally, another factor that is usually decisive in distinguishing natural parks from national parks is that natural parks are usually managed by local or regional governments. That is, they do not depend directly on national governments, but on the regional governments in which they are located. In Spain, for example, the natural parks depend administratively on the autonomous communities.

Differences between natural park and national park

differences between natural park and national park characteristics

National parks guarantee the protection of endemic species, thanks to the important restrictions that exist within them, and omitting them can result in fines. The restrictions are as follows

  • It is forbidden to build and build inside.
  • Access is restricted allowing only its network of roads and different routes.
  • Activities harmful to the environment are prohibited: hunting, lighting bonfires...
  • No material of any kind may be collected except for scientific reasons.
  • A limited number of visitors at a given time can only be carried out in vehicles on foot for which they are enabled.

The limitations in the natural parks are the following:

  • Buildings of any kind are prohibited. Like the famous illegal hotel in Cabo de Gata.
  • Any activity that affects the environment is prohibited.
  • They have no capacity or route restrictions and you can visit everything you want while respecting the environment.
  • In some you can camp
  • Inside you can do many different activities: hiking, excursions to the countryside, horse riding, mountaineering.
  • Human activity affects them more than national parks.
  • In some areas, fishing is possible at certain times of the year, although fishing is limited.

Other differences

As we have seen, national parks have greater protection than natural parks, and national parks report directly to national rather than regional authorities for park management. This is due to another important difference between national parks and natural parks, namely that the former have endemic and native species that are not found elsewhere or in many other places, thus requiring special attention.

However, in some special cases, the interests of protected areas are such that, although it is not the most common, a formula can be found to combine national parks with natural parks.

Doñana national park

One of the best examples of this exists in Spain, especially in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Doñana is an area of ​​special environmental importance due to its marshes and the great biodiversity of flora and fauna that can be found in this area. This led to the creation of the original park in 1969, a national park directly dependent on the national government.

However, in 1989, the original national park was expanded, as the adjoining area also has particularly important environmental benefits. In addition, this new area was expanded in 1997, becoming one of the main protected environmental spaces on the Iberian Peninsula.

Thus, Doñana currently consists of a national park, which occupies the center and the most important areas of the park, and another protected space that extends around it, a continuation of the national park, but in this case, it is a natural park space. In this way, we have an example of how the two types can perfectly coexist, in fact, they fulfill different functions according to each situation.

Other protection regimes

In addition to these special reservations, there are other sects that define unique spaces, such as:

  • marine protected area. Sometimes they are an important part of natural or national parks, but specific coastal spaces can be protected due to their biological abundance (animals and plants) or due to the uniqueness of the current ecosystem.
  • Natural reserve. Nature reserves are always smaller than parks with the same classification and focus on specific areas of high value that are also particularly vulnerable to any human intervention.
  • Natural monuments and protected landscapes. In both cases, they are very specific and delimited formations or spaces, from caves with spectacular stalactites to settings and landscapes of lakes that stand out for their uniqueness.

I hope that with this information you can learn more about the differences between a natural park and a national park.


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