Research in National Parks

Research is an important part of the work in a national park.

In view of the fact that natural development processes shall remain widely undisturbed in these protected areas, they are ideal for certain research activities such as inventories, monitoring or documentation of changes in the ecosystems.
 
Management practice also often requires scientifically based arguments either for concrete projects such as the re-introduction of animal species or as a basis for management plans.  However, the primary aim of scientific research is the implementation of the protection goals of the respective national parks.
 
Besides research in natural sciences, there is also room for research in social and economic sciences and the humanities.  Questions such as the acceptance of a national park among the population or its effects on regional development or cultural and political processes etc. are of relevance for the development of a national park.
 
In recent years, many projects have been carried out and published by the national park administrations.   In 2000 the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, in short the Ministry of Life, published for the first time an all-Austrian summary in the form of the research report called “Forschung im Nationalpark 2000” (National Park Research 2000) with the aim of providing a general overview of the current research work.  Further research reports were issued in 2002, 2004 and 2006, which can be obtained for free from the Ministry of Life and downloaded from the “publications” Web site.

03.05.2011,