Nature of wilderness
Photo: MNP ArchivePAN Parks Wilderness requires a minimum of 10 000 ha of an ecologically un-fragmented area of land where no extractive uses are permitted, and the only management interventions are those aimed at maintaining or restoring natural ecological processes and the ecological integrity. This is regarded as the minimum requirement needed for the maintenance of many of the key wilderness species. It provides the space and freedom for iconic species such as the Brown Bear of Central Balkan NP, the wolf of Majella NP or the lynx of Fulufjället NP, to roam.
Certified PAN Parks cover together 226 498 ha of wilderness area. The largest PAN Parks Wilderness areas include those of Borjomi Kharagauli NP, Georgia (50 325 ha), Paanajärvi NP, Russia (30 000 ha) and Majella NP, Italy (25 500 ha).
Fragmentation is one of the most serious threats for European wilderness. This results from the pressure of human activity and development in Europe. The PAN Parks criteria allows for the wilderness area to be divided up as long as it is not ecologically fragmented. If the wilderness is in one area but is ecologically fragmented by a fence, road or other infrastructure, the area will not meet the standards of PAN Parks Wilderness.
There are several PAN Parks with completely un-fragmented wilderness. Other parks meet this criterion with a certain level of fragmentation. The shared knowledge of the network finds solutions to reduce and avoid fragmentation. For instance in Fulufjället NP, Sweden, a snow-mobile trail was re-directed to avoid fragmentation of a newly designated PAN Parks Wilderness.
The most characteristic feature of PAN Parks Wilderness is a natural dynamic without interference. Removing broken trees after snowfall can create a feeling of ‘a tidy forest’ but the missing dead wood deprives forest ecosystems of nutrition, species and important ecological processes. In all forested PAN Parks such as Retezat NP, Romania, Rila NP, Bulgaria or Fulufjället, Sweden, no sanitary or selective logging is used in PAN Parks Wilderness; and trees uprooted by wind or broken by snow are left to their own devices.
