The EUROPARC Federation, the full name of which is the Federation of Natural and National Parks in Europe, is a pan-European non-governmental organisation which was founded in 1973. It currently has 441 members in 36 European countries. The member organisations are predominantly the administrations of protected areas of various categories, certain official bodies (e.g. ministries of the environment), NGOs as well as universities. These organisations together administer more than 400 of protected areas all over the continent.

EUROPARC’s main missions are to bring together nature protection institutions, which administer various types of European landscapes, to support their activities, co-ordinate their methods and ensure the exchange of information. EUROPARC’s headquarters are in Grafenau in Germany, while a small office has recently been opened in Brussels.

Especially since 1989, it is the EUROPARC Federation, which has offered our professional institutions such necessary and effective assistance in the form of study trips and work placements in protected areas throughout Europe. This organisation is currently one of the largest of its kind in Europe and is regarded as being extremely influential in its relations with European political structures.