The Rhön Biosphere Reserve includes the entire central area of the

Rhön Mountains The Rhön Mountains () are a group of low mountains (or ''Mittelgebirge'') in central Germany, located around the border area where the states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia come together. These mountains, which are at the extreme southeast end o ...

, a low mountain range in the German states of

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

and

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

Aim

In 1991 the Rhön was recognised at international level by UNESCO as a

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 ...

. The aim of this biosphere reserve is to take account of local agriculture, nature protection, tourism and trade, to ensure the variety and quality of habitats in the whole Rhön region. This involves creating a long-term economic environment for agriculture and trade that is in tune with the protection of nature and the local landscape. People are at the heart of the Rhön Biosphere Reserve. The idea is to have a so-called sustainable development, which harmonises economic and social issues as far as possible with environmental issues.

History

As early as 12 September 1990, the Thuringian Rhön was declared a Rhön Biosphere Reserve by the Council of Ministers of the German Democratic Republic as part of the GDR's National Park Programme. The "Ordinance on the Designation of Nature Conservation Areas and a Landscape Protection Area of Central Importance with the Overall Designation of Rhön Biosphere Reserve" was published on 1 October 1990 in the ''Gesetzblatt'' of the German Democratic Republic. In the winter of 1990/91, i.e. immediately after the

Peaceful Revolution The Peaceful Revolution () – also, in German called ' (, "the turning point") – was one of the peaceful revolutions of 1989 at the peak of the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in the late 1980s. A process of sociopolitical change that led to, am ...

and

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

, the three federal states of

and

then submitted separate applications for its recognition as a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The Environment Minister at the time, Klaus Töpfer, made a joint proposal from them. On 6 March 1991, the three-state Rhön region was designated a

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 ...

. In Bavaria, Hesse and Thuringia, administrative offices have been set up that work together on the basis of an administrative agreement between the three states dated November 2002. At the same time, experts began to develop a framework concept. This framework concept, which was first handed over in April 1995, was the basis for all planning and measures. In June 2014, the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Rhön successfully underwent a review of its previous work by the International Coordinating Council, after which UNESCO status was confirmed for a further 10 years. At the same time, the Bavarian part of the UNESCO biosphere reserve was expanded by 58,000 hectares. Between 2014 and 2017 the content of the framework concept was revised. The revised framework concept was presented on 16 May 2018.

Zoning

The Biosphere Reserve currently has a total area of , of which 72,802 ha are in

, 63,564 ha in

and 48,573 ha in

. From 1991-1995 a "Concept for the Protection, Care and Development" for the Rhön with objectives and measures was drawn up in conjunction with the districts, communes, authorities and societies. Following the

zoning system, 4,199 ha (2.27%) of land were designated as a core areas that are not allowed to be directly used for any purpose e.g. agriculture or forestry. A further 67,483 ha (36.49%) are designated as buffer zones where there should only be careful use of land compatible with nature. The remaining areas are the zones of cooperation in which the villages and towns of the Rhön are situated.

Gallery

File:Rhoen Berge mg-k.jpg, Milseburg and Pferdskopf File:Rhoen Bergwiese Orchideen mg-k.jpg, Mountain meadow with Early Purple Orchid in the High Rhön File:Cicerbita alpina mg-k.jpg, Hummingbird Hawk-moth feeds on an Alpine Blue-sow-thistle File:Rhönschaf-Weidberg bei Kaltenwestheim HBP-2019-04-28.jpg, Rhön sheep

References

External links

The website of the Rhön Biosphere ReserveBoard of trustees for the ''Naturpark and Biosphere Reserve Bayerische Rhön e.V.''Thuringian Environment MinistryThe orchids of the Rhön
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhon Biosphere Reserve Rhön Biosphere Reserve Biosphere reserves of Germany Protected areas of Hesse Protected areas of Bavaria Protected areas of Thuringia International Dark Sky Reserves

Aim

History

Zoning

Gallery

See also

References

External links