Looking at the Brazilian parks, some similarities in terms of their recent history may be
found in many European countries. For many of these nations, the development of protected areas is a relatively new phenomenon. For example, the earliest named national park
in Germany (Bayerischer Wald) was developed in 1970, and the two most recent (Eifel and
Kellerwald-Edersee) were established in 2004. Overall, its 14 national parks cover just over
1 million hectares, equivalent to 0.54% of the country’s terrestrial land mass. Similar to the
situation in Brazil, most of the German national parks are considered to be in a state of development, with the objective of reaching initial legislative or other objectives within a time
frame of 20 to 30 years (e.g., by phasing out existing uses and initiating measures to speed up
processes that lead to more natural states of vegetation). The German parks were developed
with the main objective to protect nature, but also to allow for environmental science, education, and public experience of nature. The legal basis for national parks is provided within
the federal nature conservation act, but the actual mandate for designation and implementation lies with the German federal states. This creates an interesting situation of a combined
federal–state management process, which may include both pros and cons. The alignment
of federal and state agencies may allow for a more supportive funding structure for protected
areas; however, the coordination and synchronization of efforts may be stymied. All parks
are now recognized under IUCN category II, with the objective to meet all criteria within the
above-mentioned transition period. German parks have no fees, although concessionaires do
operate in and near them.