A nature reserve is a protected area that aims to preserve the species that inhabit the place.
A nature reserve is a space protected by some special regime that allows the preservation of the species that inhabit it. When a certain piece of land is designated as a nature reserve, it acquires a particular status that prevents its commercial exploitation, the construction of structures and other issues that could modify its natural conditions.
Nature reserves are also often known as ecological reserves as they aim to safeguard ecology . According to the legal and regulatory characteristics, nature reserves can be called biosphere reserve , national park or natural park .
Declaration of a nature reserve
A government can declare an area a natural reserve when the fauna or flora of the place is of great importance. In this way, by converting these lands into a nature reserve, it is guaranteed that deforestation does not occur or that the land is not contaminated.
Thanks to this protection , it is likely that the protected resources will persist over time, unlike what happens when conservation work is not carried out and productive exploitations are left free.
The nature reserve can be classified as partial or total depending on the type of protection established.
Classification according to type
It is important to know that there are fundamentally two types of natural reserves:
- Partial , in which compatibility is allowed between the conservation of the values that are intended to be protected with the exploitation of certain resources.
- Totals , in which the exploitation of resources is totally prohibited. The only exception to this rule is if the relevant authority decides to eliminate or restrict it; That is, it authorizes exploitation if it is for scientific, conservation, research or educational reasons.
Some examples of nature reserves
It is possible to mention multiple examples of natural reserves:
- The Cabo de San Antonio nature reserve is one of the examples of a nature reserve. Located in Alicante , a province of the Valencian Community ( Spain ), this 110 hectare reserve was designated in 1993 .
- In the province of Buenos Aires ( Argentina ), there is the Punta Lara comprehensive nature reserve , which protects 6,000 hectares located next to the Río de la Plata. More than three hundred species of birds and thirty species of mammals live in this nature reserve created in the 1940s .
- The Cabo Blanco absolute nature reserve is located in Costa Rica , it has a large number of marine species and is considered to be one of the richest and most beautiful areas of the entire Pacific Coast .
- The Laguna de Fuente de Piedra nature reserve is located in Spain , specifically in the Antequera region of Malaga, in the town that gives it its name. It is also declared a Special Protection Area for Birds ( SPA ) and is considered to be the largest lagoon in all of Andalusia with its 6.5 kilometers long .
- You have to travel to the Spanish province of Cáceres to find the Garganta de los Infiernos natural reserve , which is part of the Sierra de Gredos . Waterfalls, natural pools, riverside forests, alpine grasslands and deciduous forests are what give value to this enclave, which also has a great variety of fauna.