The Rhön Biosphere Reserve includes the entire central area of the Rhön Mountains, a low mountain range in the German states of

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

and

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

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, or features of geological or ...

. The aim of this biosphere reserve is, taking 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 and care 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.

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

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

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 Pferdskopf is a mountain of Hesse, Germany, in the vicinity of the Wasserkuppe in 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 ...

File:Rhoen Bergwiese Orchideen mg-k.jpg, Mountain meadow with

Early Purple Orchid ''Orchis mascula'', the early-purple orchid, early spring orchis, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Description ''Orchis mascula'' is a perennial herbaceous plant with stems up to high, green at the base and ...

in the High Rhön File:Cicerbita alpina mg-k.jpg,

Hummingbird Hawk-moth The hummingbird hawk-moth (''Macroglossum stellatarum'') is a species of hawk moth found across temperate regions of Eurasia. The species is named for its similarity to hummingbirds, as they feed on the nectar of tube-shaped flowers using thei ...

feeds on an Alpine Blue-sow-thistle File:Rhönschaf-Weidberg bei Kaltenwestheim HBP-2019-04-28.jpg, Rhön sheep

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

Aim

Zoning

Gallery

See also

External links