Geopark
A geopark is a protected area with internationally significant geology within which sustainable development is sought and which includes tourism, conservation, education and research concerning not just geology but other relevant sciences.
| Geopark | |
|---|---|
The maars, or volcanic lakes, of Natur- und Geopark Vulkaneifel in Germany, the first geopark under the name | |
World map of geoparks included in the
UNESCO Global Geoparks Network (GGN) as of 2020 | |
| Etymology | Produced compound of "geo-" and "park" |
| Owned by | The nation(s) in which the park is defined |
| Administered by | The nation's government |
| Camp sites | Defined by park |
| Hiking trails | Defined by park |
| Terrain | Sites and habitats of geological interest |
| Water | Possibly |
| Vegetation | Possibly |
| Species | Possibly |
| Collections | Possibly |
| Designation | UNESCO designations of national geopark, national and regional, or national, regional, and global |
| Budget | Sustainable |
| Parking | Possibly |
| Connecting transport | Possibly |
| Facilities | Possibly |
| Website | Typically |
In 2005, a European Geopark was defined as being: "a territory with a particular geological heritage and with a sustainable territorial development....the ultimate aim of a European Geopark is to bring enhanced employment opportunities for the people who live there."
Today the geopark is virtually synonymous with the UNESCO geopark, which is defined and managed under the voluntary authority of UNESCO's International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme (IGGP). UNESCO provides a standard for geoparks and a certification service to territories that apply for it. The service is available to member states of UNESCO.
The list of members is not the same as the member states of the United Nations. Membership in the UN does not automatically imply membership of UNESCO, even though UNESCO is part of the UN. Both lists have about 193 member nations, but not exactly the same 193. The UN list covers most of the geopolitical world, but the UNESCO list lacks Israel, for example, which resigned in 2018 because they believed UNESCO is anti-Israel.
The UNESCO Global Geoparks Network co-ordinates the activities of the many UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGp's) around the world. It is divided into regional networks, such as the European Geoparks Network. The EGN historically preceded the UGGN, being founded in 2000 with the first four geoparks. It joined with UNESCO in 2001 and in 2005 agreed in the Madonie Declaration to be a regional network of the UGGps, which had been created by UNESCO in 2004.
The Madonie Declaration of 2004, which was signed by Nikolas Zouros for the EGN and Wolfgang Eder for UNESCO, established what was later called a "bottom up" system of precedence. An applicant geopark must first be a member of the EGN before applying to the UGGN. Furthermore, another level was created, the National Geoparks Network, which at first glance seems a contradiction in terms. Geoparks are international. What the Declaration meant was, if a potentially international type of site (a possible geosite) existed within the candidate park's country, the park must belong to it before it can apply to the regional network. This type was dubbed an NGN. Its sites could then be included under the geopark umbrella by being candidates for the international network. In 2014 the creation of other regions besides the EGN was allowed and encouraged, permitting geoparks to fulfill their declared global nature.