Strict nature reserves and wilderness areas are protected areas that are created and managed mainly for the purposes of research or for the protection of large, unspoiled areas of wilderness. Their primary purpose is the preservation of biodiversity and as essential reference areas for scientific work and environmental monitoring.
IUCN category Ia strict nature reserves are generally established exclusively for scientific field work.
IUCN category Ib wilderness areas are defined as "large unmodified or slightly modified areas, retaining their natural character and influence, without permanent or significant human habitation, which are protected and managed so as to preserve their natural condition."
Usage and intrusion are strictly controlled. As a result, strict nature reserves often form the core zones, with wilderness areas acting as a buffer zone, similar to the concept used for national parks, but also for UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Protected areas
Austria
In Austria, only one area has been designated as an IUCN category I protected area:
Urwald Rothwald in the Wildnisgebiet Dürrenstein, Lower Austrian Eisenwurzen
In their national strategy for biological diversity out to 2020 published in 2007, the German Federal Government set the aim of allowing 2% of the area of Germany to develop naturally and in an undisturbed way into wilderness areas.
France
Officially created in the 1950s, Integral Biological Reserves were dedicated to man free ecosystem evolution, on the contrary of Managed Biological reserves where a specific management is applied to conserve vulnerable species or threatened habitats. Integral Biological Reserves occurs in French State Forests or City Forests and are therefore managed by the National Forests Office. In such reserves, all harvests coupe are forbidden excepted exotic species elimination or track safety works to avoid fallen tree risk to visitors. At the end of 2014, there were 60 Integral Biological Reserves in French State Forests for a total area of 111 082 hectares and 10 in City Forests for a total of 2 835 hectares.
In the USA Wilderness Areas are the strictest category of protected area. They are designated by law in accordance with the Wilderness Act of 1964 by the United States Congress. They must cover an area of at least and may only be entered on foot, by canoe or on horseback. Exceptions are the extensive areas of wilderness in Alaska. At the beginning of 2010 there were over 750 recognised Wilderness Areas.
