The

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" * Franco of Cologne (mid to late 13th cent ...

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Palatinate Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve (, ) was created in 1998 as the first

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

trans-boundary

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

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 ...

. The German part became the 12th of 16 biosphere reserves in Germany, and the French part, the 6th of 14 in France.

Description

The biosphere reserve is a fusion of the older

Palatinate Forest Nature Park The Palatinate Forest Nature Park () lies in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany and borders on France. The nature park covers an area of and some 76% of its area is under the woods of the Palatinate Forest, the largest contiguous fore ...

in Germany and

Northern Vosges Regional Nature Park The Northern Vosges Regional Natural Park ( French: ''Parc naturel régional des Vosges du Nord'') is a protected area of woodland, wetland, farmland and historical sites in the Grand Est region in northeastern France. The area was officially d ...

in France, covering a total area of 3018 km², with 1785 km² in Germany and 1277 km² in France respectively. The population is around 335 175 , with 253 390 living in the German part of the Reserve, compared with just over 81 785 on the French side in 2018. This difference in population is not reflected in the number of communes, as there are 142 on the German side versus 111 on the French side for a total of 253 communes. Average population density, at just over 76 inhabitants per square kilometer, is fairly low for a Western European region, although it is higher on the German side (89 inhabitants/km2) than on the French side (59 inhabitants/km2). Management of the Reserve is a collaborative effort between the two countries, delegated to a coordinating committee made up of representatives from both countries (the Syndicat de coopération du Parc naturel régional des Vosges du Nord, on the French side, and the Biosphärenreservat Pfälzerwald-Nordvogesen, on the German side), chaired alternately every two years by a French or German elected official. Most of the Reserve's territory is occupied by vast forests, covering almost the entire Vosges-Pfalz mountain range. Forests alone account for almost 74% of the Reserve's surface area. In contrast to this natural preponderance, the urbanized portion of the Reserve's territory is only 5%. This geographical entity, which constitutes the largest forest area in Western Europe, remains the least populated. These conditions have helped to preserve a rich and diverse natural heritage. Cultural heritage is also well represented, as the Transboundary Biosphere Reserve region, with over 95 castles, is one of the areas with the highest density of these witnesses to our historical past.

Geography

Location

The biosphere reserve lies in the

Palatinate Forest The Palatinate Forest (; ), sometimes also called the Palatine Forest, is a List of landscapes in Rhineland-Palatinate, low-mountain region in southwestern Germany, located in the Palatinate (region), Palatinate in the state of Rhineland-Palatina ...

and in the North Vosges on the boundary between the southwest German state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

and the northeast French region of

Grand Est Grand Est (; ) is an Regions of France, administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...

Gallery

File:Biosphärenhaus.jpg, Biosphere house in Fischbach near Dahn File:WipfelpfadTurm.jpg, Platforms on the Baumwipfel Path File:Baumwipfelpfad peng1.jpg, View from the Baumwipfel Path looking down File:BiosphärenErlebnisweg.jpg, Biosphere experience path in Fischbach File:Helmbachweiher.JPG, Helmbachweiher lake

References

External links