A national park is a nature park designated for conservation purposes by a national government because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a government protects and often owns. Although national governments hold different standards for national park designation, the conservation of 'wild nature' for posterity and as a symbol of national pride[1] is a common motivation for the continued protection of all national parks around the world. National parks are almost always accessible to the public.[2]
The United States established Yellowstone National Park, the first "public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people," in 1872.[3] Although Yellowstone was not officially termed a "national park" at the time, in practice[4] it is widely held to be the first and oldest national park in the world.[5] However, the Tobago Main Ridge Forest Reserve (in what is now Trinidad and Tobago; established in 1776)[6] and the area surrounding Bogd Khan Uul Mountain (Mongolia, 1778), which were restricted from cultivation to protect surrounding farmland, are considered the oldest legally protected areas.[7][8]Parks Canada, established on May 19, 1911, is the world's oldest national park service.[9]
The largest national park in the world meeting the IUCN definition is the Northeast Greenland National Park, which was established in 1974 and is 972,000 km2 (375,000 sq mi) in area.[11]
^Europarc Federation (eds.) 2009, Living Parks, 100 Years of National Parks in Europe, Oekom Verlag, München
^Gissibl, B., S. Höhler and P. Kupper, 2012, Civilizing Nature, National Parks in Global Historical Perspective, Berghahn, Oxford
^Vereinte Nationen; World Conservation Monitoring Centre, eds. (1994). 1993 United Nations list of national parks and protected areas: = Liste des Nations Unies des parcs nationaux et des aires protégées 1993 = Lista de las Naciones Unidas de parques nacionales y areas protegidas 1993. Gland: IUCN/UICN. ISBN978-2-8317-0190-5.