The European Diploma of Protected Areas, established in 1965 with Resolution (65)6, is a

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

awarded by the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

s (natural or semi-natural) of exceptional

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an conservational interest. It is a tool for implementing the European biodiversity strategy and is awarded for a five-year period at a time and is renewable. Over 60 areas in 23 states have received the award so far.

Awarded areas

;Armenia *

Khosrov Forest State Reserve Khosrov Forest State Reserve () is a nature reserve in Ararat Province of Armenia. The reserve is one of the oldest protected areas in the world having a history of about 1,700 years. It was founded in the 4th century (334–338) by the order o ...

;Austria *

Krimmler Wasserfälle The Krimml Waterfalls (), with a total height of 380 metres (1,247 feet), are the highest waterfall in Austria. The falls are on the Krimmler Ache river and are located near the village of Krimml in the High Tauern National Park in Salzburg sta ...

Thayatal National Park Thayatal National Park () is a 13.3 km2 Austrian national park located in the Lower Austrian border area with the Czech Republic. It connects to the Czech Podyjí National Park. The Thayatal with its steep hillside forests is one of the mo ...

Wachau The Wachau () is an Austrian valley formed by the Danube River. It is one of the most prominent tourism in Austria, tourist destinations of Lower Austria, located between the towns of Melk and Krems an der Donau, Krems that attracts epicureans ...

;Belarus * Berezinsky Nature Reserve ;Belgium *

Hautes Fagnes The High Fens (; ; ), which were declared a nature reserve in 1957, are an upland area, a plateau region in Liège Province, in the east of Belgium and adjoining parts of northwestern Germany, between the Ardennes and the Eifel highlands. The Hig ...

;Czech Republic * Biele Karpaty Protected Landscape Area * Karlštejn National Nature Reserve * Podyjí ;Estonia *

Matsalu National Park Matsalu National Park (previously Matsalu Nature Reserve, , often just Matsalu) is a nature reserve and national park situated in the Lääne and Pärnu counties of Estonia. Matsalu National Park spans an area of , comprising Matsalu Bay, the K ...

;Finland * Ekenäs Archipelago National Park *

Seitseminen National Park Seitseminen National Park () is located in the municipalities of Ikaalinen and Ylöjärvi in Finland. The national park was established in 1982 and later expanded in 1989. It now covers . The park is a typical mix of upland and lowland coniferous ...

;France *

Camargue The Camargue (, also , , ; ) is a coastal region in southern France located south of the city of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône river delta. The eastern arm is called the Grand Rhône; the western is the ''P ...

National Reserve *

Écrins National Park Écrins National Park (, ; ) is a List of national parks of France, French national park located in the southeastern part of France in the Dauphiné Alps south of Grenoble and north of Gap, Hautes-Alpes, Gap, shared between the Departments of Fra ...

Mercantour National Park Mercantour National Park () a French national park located in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Alpes-Maritimes departments. Since it was created in 1979, the park has proven popular, with 800,000 visitors annually enjoying the 600 km (372&nb ...

Port-Cros National Park Port-Cros National Park () is a French national park established on the Mediterranean island of Port-Cros, east of Toulon. It also administers natural areas in some surrounding locales. History The park was founded in 1963 after the island of ...

* Scandola Nature Reserve *

Vanoise National Park Vanoise National Park () is a French national park between the Tarentaise and Maurienne valleys in the French Alps, containing the Vanoise massif. It was created in 1963 as the first national park in France. Vanoise National Park is in the '' ...

;Germany *

Bavarian Forest image:Zell-bayerischer-wald.jpg, The village of Zell in the Bavarian Forest The Bavarian Forest ( or ''Bayerwald'' ; ) is a wooded, low-mountain region in Bavaria, Germany, that is about 100 kilometres long. It runs along the Czech Republic, C ...

National Park *

Berchtesgaden National Park Berchtesgaden National Park is in the south of Germany, on its border with Austria, in the municipalities of Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden and Schönau am Königsee, Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria. The national park was established in 1978 to protect ...

Lüneburg Heath Lüneburg Heath (, ) is a large area of heath (habitat), heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen and is ...

Nature Reserve *

German-Luxembourg Nature Park The German-Luxembourg Nature Park () is a cross-border nature park, which was established on 17 April 1964 by state treaty between the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It thus became the first cross-bo ...

Siebengebirge The (), occasionally Sieben Mountains or Seven Mountains, are a hill range of the German Central Uplands on the east bank of the Middle Rhine, southeast of Bonn. Description The area, located in the municipalities of Bad Honnef and Königswin ...

Nature Reserve * Weltenburger Enge Nature Reserve *

Wollmatinger Ried The nature reserve of Wollmatinger Ried – Untersee – Gnadensee is a protected area on the shores of Lake Constance in Germany. It has an area of 767 hectares and is the largest and most important nature reserve on the German side of Lake Consta ...

Nature Reserve * Wurzacher Ried Nature Reserve ;Greece * Cretan White Mountains National Park (Samaria) ;Hungary *

Ipolytarnóc Ipolytarnóc () is a village in Hungary, Nógrád county. There is a fossil site close to it, the Ipolytarnoc Fossils Nature Conservation Area. Fossils Sometimes referred to as the "Prehistoric Pompeii", Ipolytarnóc is the location of 23 to 17 m ...

Nature Conservation Area * Szenas Hills Protected Area *

Tihany Tihany () is a village on the northern shore of Lake Balaton on the Tihany Peninsula (Hungary, Veszprém County). The whole peninsula is a historical district. The center of the district is the Benedictine Tihany Abbey, which was founded in 1055 ...

peninsula ;Italy *

Gran Paradiso National Park Gran Paradiso National Park (; ) is an Italian national park in the Graian Alps, between the Aosta Valley and Piedmont regions. The park is named after Gran Paradiso mountain, which is located in the park; it is contiguous with the French Vanois ...

Maremma The Maremma (, ; from Latin , "maritime and) is a geographical region located between Lazio and Tuscany, Central Italy. The biggest city is Grosseto. The region, with a long history, is traditionally populated by the '' butteri'', mounted c ...

Nature Park *

Maritime Alps The Maritime Alps ( ; ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between the regions of France, French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the regions of Italy, Italian regions of Piedmont and Liguria ...

Nature Park * Montecristo Island Nature Reserve *

Parco naturale di Migliarino, San Rossore, Massaciuccoli Parco can refer to: * Parco, Tibet, a town in China * Parco (retailer), a chain of department stores primarily in Japan * Parco Historic District (also known as Sinclair Historic District), Sinclair, Wyoming, United States * Parco P.I., a reality ...

Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park (Italian: ''Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise'') is an Italian national park established in 1923. The majority of the park is located in the Abruzzo region, with smaller parts in Lazio and Molise. I ...

* Sasso Fratino Integral Nature Reserve ;Luxemburg *

; Netherlands * De Boschplaat * Weerribben *

Oostvaardersplassen The Oostvaardersplassen () is a nature reserve in the Netherlands, managed by the ''Staatsbosbeheer'' (state forestry service). Covering about in the province of Flevoland, it is an experiment in rewilding.Oostvaardersplassen is discussed, for e ...

* Naardermeer ;Poland *

Białowieża Forest Białowieża Forest is a large forest complex on the border between Poland and Belarus. It is one of the last and the largest remaining part of the immense primeval forest that once stretched across the European Plain. The forest is home to more ...

Bieszczady National Park Bieszczady National Park (; ) is the third-largest national park in Poland, located in Subcarpathian Voivodeship in the extreme southeast corner of the country. In 2021, the national park became a UNESCO World Heritage Site (as an extension to th ...

;Romania *

Danube Delta The Danube Delta (, ; , ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. Occurring where the Danube, Danube River empties into the Black Sea, most of the Danube Delta lies in Romania ...

Piatra Craiului National Park Piatra Craiului National Park is a protected area of national interest in Romania corresponding to IUCN category II (national park), located on the territories of Argeș (6,967 ha.) and Brașov (7,806 ha) counties. Located on the Piatra Craiului ...

Retezat National Park The Retezat National Park () is a protected area located in the Retezat Mountains in Hunedoara (county), Hunedoara county, Romania. Founded in 1935, it is the oldest national park in the country and categorized as a category II IUCN national park ...

;Russia * Oka National Biosphere Reserve *

Kostomuksha Kostomuksha (; ; ; ) is a town in the northwest of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located from the border with Finland, on the shore of Lake Kontoki. Population: Geography The nearest large cities in Russia are St. Petersburg and ...

Strict Nature Reserve * Teberda National Reserve * Tsentralno-Chernozemny Biosphere Reserve ;Slovakia *

Poloniny National Park Poloniny National Park () is a national park in northeastern Slovakia at the Polish and Ukrainian borders, in the Bukovské vrchy mountain range, which belongs to the Eastern Carpathians. It was created on 1 October 1997 with a protected area of ...

* Dobrocsky National Nature Reserve ;Slovenia *

Triglav National Park Triglav National Park (TNP; ) is the only national park in Slovenia. It was established in its modern form in 1981 and is located in the northwestern part of the country, respectively the southeastern part of the Alps, Alpine massif. Mount Trigla ...

;Spain *

Doñana National Park Doñana National Park or Parque Nacional y Natural de Doñana is a natural reserve in Andalusia, southern Spain, in the provinces of Huelva (most of its territory within the municipality of Almonte), Cádiz and Seville. It covers , of which are ...

Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park (Parque nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido) is an IUCN Category II National Park situated in the Pyrenees. There has been a National Park in the Ordesa Valley since 1918. Its protected area was enlarged in 1 ...

* Teide ;Sweden *

Muddus Muddus (; ) is a national park in northern Sweden. It is situated in the province Lapland, with its largest part in the Gällivare Municipality. Furthermore, it belongs to the largely untouched UNESCO World Heritage classified Laponian area. Nat ...

Sarek National Park Sarek National Park () is a national park in Jokkmokk Municipality, Lapland in northern Sweden. Established in 1909, the park is among the oldest national parks in Europe. It is adjacent to two other national parks, namely Stora Sjöfallet and ...

Store Mosse National Park Store Mosse ("Big Marsh") is a national park in Småland in southern Sweden, located in the municipalities of Vaggeryd, Gnosjö and Värnamo. In total Store Mosse covers some ; of these, some were designated national park in 1983. It has the ...

* Bullerö Nature Reserve ;Switzerland *

Swiss National Park The Swiss National Park (; ; ; ) is located in the Western Rhaetian Alps, in eastern Switzerland. It lies within the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden, between Zernez, S-chanf, Scuol, and the Fuorn Pass in the Engadin valley on the ...

;Turkey * Kuşcenneti National Park ;Ukraine *

Carpathian Biosphere Reserve Carpathian Biosphere Reserve () is a Nature reserve, biosphere reserve in Ukraine that was established in 1968 and became part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves of UNESCO in 1992. Since 2007 bigger portion of the reserve along with some ...

;United Kingdom *

Peak District National Park Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-d ...

* Minsmere Nature Reserve *

Beinn Eighe is a mountain massif in the Torridon area of Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. Lying south of Loch Maree, it forms a long ridge with many spurs and summits, two of which are classified as Munros: Ruadh-stac Mòr at ...

National Nature Reserve * Purbeck Heritage Coast *

Fair Isle Fair Isle ( ; ), sometimes Fairisle, is the southernmost Shetland island, situated roughly from the Shetland Mainland and about from North Ronaldsay (the most northerly island of Orkney). The entire archipelago lies off the northernmost coa ...

National Scenic Area

External links

The European Diploma of Protected Areas
(the Council of Europe) Protected areas of Europe {{Protected-area-stub