Who we are

We represent over 430 members in 35 countries, who themselves manage the green jewels of Europe's land, sea, mountains, forests, rivers and cultural heritage. Nature knows no boundaries and we therefore facilitate international co-operation in all aspects of protected area management to further and improve and conserve our shared natural inheritance. We endeavour to exchange expertise, experience and best practise as well as collaborate with others to ensure the value and meaning of protected areas is at the heart of Europe.

EUROPARC was founded in 1973 under the official title "Federation of Nature and National Parks of Europe", and has since grown to become the recognised, professional organisation for European protected areas. An independent, non-governmental organisation, its membership brings together the organisations responsible for the management of most of Europe's protected areas. Yet the Federation is also very much a network of people: those whose daily task is to take care of these special areas, and who combine forces within EUROPARC to achieve their common goals.

The key aims of the EUROPARC Federation are:

• Promote good practice in the management of protected areas
• Facilitate the establishment of new protected areas
• Raise the profile of protected areas as a vital means of safeguarding many of the continent's most valuable natural heritage assets, and thereby to increase support for their future protection
• Influence the future development of public policies and programmes, especially with the European Union, to the benefit of protected areas' objectives.

Read more about our history, our members, the directorate, our national sections, our council, our partners and funders and our consulting arm EUROPARC Consulting by navigating through the menu on the right or clicking on the links.