EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - UNESCO World Heritage

140 NOMINATION DOSSIER "ANCIENT BEECH FORESTS OF GERMANY"
Development of wilderness
in the Kellerwald-Edersee
National Park
Example citizen involvement in
the Kellerwald component part
Honorary protagonists and services have
been involved in the establishment and
development of the national park from the
very beginning: essential basic knowledge,
scientifi c data, fi eld mappings and
concepts are periodically introduced
into the research projects and management
work of the park (e.g. research
on birds, bats, and insects) by nature
conservation organisations and local
or supraregional experts.
Volunteers are represented both in the
national park’s offi cial advisory board
and the research expert panel at an
interdisciplinary level. Specifi cally trained
• Partnerships in the educational sector
with schools and in the context of the
EUROPARC project “Partners of the
National Natural Landscapes”
• Involvement in the EUROPARC
programme “Volunteers in Parks”
• Friends of the National Park
Th ere is a national park support organisation
to back the objectives at an institutional
level. It has emerged from the former “Pro
Nationalpark” initiative of 1990, which
had been the starting point for crucial
conceptual and political lobby initiatives
and certifi ed honorary national park
guides and regional connaisseurs are
employed to guide tours and give lectures.
In the educational fi eld, there are steady
school sponsorships as well as a tested
collaboration with extracurricular educational
institutions such as churches,
adult education centres, and nature conservation
organisations. Th e Kellerwald-
Edersee National Park takes part in the
EURO PARC project “Volunteers in
Parks”. Th e protected area administration
has been collaborating with a host of
partners in the fi eld of tourism, services,
and regional development, organising
certifi ed partnerships within the scope of
the EUROPARC project “Partners of the
National Natural Landscapes”.
for the national park. Th e establishment
phase saw the organisation contributing to
the development of ordinances and establishment
staff as well as preparing the fi rst
basic brochure and hiking map as well as
making vital conceptual contributions to
the protected area. After having been
rededicated as offi cial support organisation,
it now handles sponsoring, public relations,
specialist counselling, individual marketing
products, and concrete projects (e.g. wildcat
studies, topic-related fl yers, photomonitoring,
etc.).
5.h Visitor facilities and
statistics
National parks, nature parks, and biosphere
reserves are held in high esteem by recreation
seekers and tourists alike in Germany.
75% of all German travellers see “experiencing
nature“ as an important holiday motivation
(Forschungsgemeinschaft Urlaub und Reisen