Réunion National Park
| Réunion National Park | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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| Location |
Réunion (France) Western Indian Ocean |
| Nearest city | Saint-Denis |
| Coordinates | 21°09′00″S 55°30′00″E / 21.15000°S 55.50000°ECoordinates: 21°09′00″S 55°30′00″E / 21.15000°S 55.50000°E |
| Area | 1,053.84 km2 (406.89 sq mi) (core area), 876.96 km2 (338.60 sq mi) (maximum integrated area) |
| Established | 2007 |
| Governing body | |
| Parc national de la Réunion (French) | |
| Pitons, cirques and remparts of Reunion Island | |
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| Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
View from La Roche Écrite
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| Location | France |
| Type | Natural |
| Criteria | vii, x |
| Reference | 1317 |
| UNESCO region | Africa |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2010 (34th Session) |
Réunion National Park (French: Parc national de La Réunion) is a national park on the island of Réunion, an overseas department of France in the western Indian Ocean. Established on 5 March 2007, the park protects the endemic ecosystems of Les Hauts, Réunion's mountainous interior, and covers around 42% of the island. Notable endemic species include the Réunion cuckooshrike and the Reunion Island day gecko.
Plans for a park date back to 1985, and in a public survey in 2004, the communes of Réunion approved of creating a national park. It officially came intop existence in 2007. The park's volcanic landscape, including the Piton de la Fournaise, an active volcano, was designated a World Heritage Site in 2010, under the name "Pitons, cirques and remparts of Reunion Island". The park's mission, other than preserving landscape and biodiversity, is to share knowledge and welcome visitors, and to work together with local communes. It is a popular destination for hiking and mountaineering.
Controversies have emerged over economic development in the park, notably the exploitation of geothermal power. In 2016, the Regional Council of Réunion had plans to downgrade the national park to a regional nature park to ease touristic development. This was contested by the park authorities and politicians from the opposition.
Proposals to create a park were first raised beginning in 1985. The Réunion Environmental Charter and the Regional Development Plan formally established the principle that a park should be created in Les Hauts. The French Ministry of the Environment was officially asked for the creation of a national park.
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