About this collection

Stora Sjöfallet National Park in Northern Sweden. Established in 1909 under Sweden’s first major conservation legislature.

The creation of national parks—anywhere in the world—can only be understood in the context of the time and place in which this occurred.
—Jane Carruthers

The Rachel Carson Center and the European Society for Environmental History invite all scholars of nature conservation to contribute to this collection of short online entries about the creation of national parks around the world as part of the Arcadia project. In order to ensure a minimal coherency among these entries, all contributors were asked to address the following questions:

  1. What is the context of the time and place of your park’s creation?
  2. What is particular about your park?
  3. Are there transnational connections of special importance, e.g., to other parks or protected areas or conservation models?
 
   
Collection chair is Patrick Kupper
(Institute for History and European Ethnology, University of Innsbruck)

Information on how to contribute

29 results
A Blue-Green Oasis in the Heart of the Kazakh Steppe: The Korgalzhyn Nature Reserve
Moon, David Arcadia, Spring 2022, no. 2
The Melting “Crown of the Continent”: Visual History of Glacier National Park
Gorczyca, Dori, Monani, Salma, Principato, Sarah Arcadia, Summer 2018, no. 20
Internationalism in the Heart of Africa? The Albert National Park / Virunga National Park
De Bont, Raf Arcadia, Summer 2018, no. 16
Making the “European Yellowstone”—Unintended Consequences or Unrealistic Intentions?
Iordăchescu, George Arcadia, Spring 2018, no. 10
Rabbits on the Edge: The Belonging of Pests in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
Bell, Sarah J. Arcadia, Spring 2018, no. 7
Once Upon a Game Reserve: Sambisa and the Tragedy of a Forested Landscape
Olaniyan, Azeez Arcadia, Spring 2018, no. 2
A Post-Wilderness National Park: Naturecultures of Destruction and Recuperation in the Castlemaine Goldfields
Instone, Lesley Arcadia, Summer 2017, no. 17
Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site
Vlachos, Alexandra Arcadia, Spring 2017, no. 1
Banff Is … Hell? The Struggle of Being Canada’s First, Most Famous, and Most Visited National Park
MacEachern, Alan Arcadia, Summer 2016, no. 10
“The Most Beautiful Valley in Japan”: Kamikōchi, the Japan Alps, and National Parks in Japan
Jones, Tom Arcadia, Summer 2016, no. 8
Nature, Beauty, Tourism: The Concurrent Roots of Abruzzo National Park
Piccioni, Luigi Arcadia, Spring 2016, no. 3
More Than a “Paper Park”: Tayrona, a Caribbean Paradise
Leal, Claudia Arcadia 2015, no. 6
Blurring Boundaries: Nahuel Huapi National Park
Wakild, Emily Arcadia 2015, no. 5
Profoundly National Yet Transboundary: The Tatra National Parks
Hoenig, Bianca Arcadia 2014, no. 16
Evolution for World Heritage: The Galapagos Islands National Park
Ackermann, Elke Arcadia 2014, no. 14
A Muddy Transnational Park: The Wadden Sea
Wöbse, Anna-Katharina, Ziemek, Hans-Peter Arcadia 2014, no. 10
A Latecoming Pioneer: Austria's Hohe Tauern National Park
Kupper, Patrick, Wöbse, Anna-Katharina Arcadia 2014, no. 9
A Laboratory for the Implementation of "Wilderness" in Central Europe—The Bavarian Forest National Park
Gissibl, Bernhard Arcadia 2014, no. 4
Bitten by Success: Conflicts Over Tourism Revenue and Natural Resources at Komodo National Park
Rodriguez, Steven Arcadia 2014, no. 3
Nature Conservation in Ski Country? The Vanoise National Park
Mauz, Isabelle Arcadia 2014, no. 2
“I Prefer to Die on the Mountain”: Local Resistance to National Park Development on Mount Merapi
Rodriguez, Steven Arcadia 2014, no. 1
Northern Bison Sanctuary or Big Ranch? Wood Buffalo National Park
Sandlos, John Arcadia 2013, no. 19
Removing the People: The Creation of Canada’s Kouchibouguac National Park
Rudin, Ronald Arcadia 2013, no. 17
Resources and Revolution: Mexico’s Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl National Park
Wakild, Emily Arcadia 2013, no. 15
The Triglav National Park: A Century-Long Project
Roeder, Carolin Arcadia 2013, no. 13
South African Eden – The Kruger National Park
Carruthers, Jane Arcadia 2013, no. 12
The Swiss National Park: A Model of Nature Conservation for Scientific Research
Kupper, Patrick Arcadia 2013, no. 7
Circeo National Park: Fascist Land-Reclamation and Conservation in the Pontine Marshes
Hardenberg, Wilko Graf von Arcadia 2013, no. 4
From Royal Hunting Reserve to National Park: How the Gran Paradiso Became a Sanctuary for the Ibex
Hardenberg, Wilko Graf von Arcadia 2011, no. 1