Culture – UNESCO designates 18 new “global geoparks”

The Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has approved the designation of 18 new global geoparks, bringing the total number of sites in the “UNESCO Global Geoparks Network” to 213, spread over 48 countries, the UN Organization announced in Wednesday.

The new geoparks are located in Brazil, China, Croatia, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Poland and Portugal, it is specified in the UNESCO announcement, noting that a new transnational geopark has also been established in Belgium and the Netherlands.

+ “UNESCO Global Geopark” +

The list of new UNESCO global geoparks includes the geoparks Uberaba (Brazil), Enshi Grand Canyon – Tenglongdong Cave (China), Linxia (China), Longyan (China), Mount Changbaishan (China), Wugongshan (China), Xingyi (China ). ), Biokovo-Imotski (Croatia), South Funen Archipelago (Denmark) and Calatrava Volcano Geopark. Ciudad Real (Spain).

It also includes the impact crater lake geoparks – Lappajärvi (Finland), Armorica (France), Normandy-Maine (France), Meteora and Pyli (Greece), Bükk region (Hungary), Land of Extinct Volcanoes (Poland), Oeste (Portugal) and Delta Scheldt (Belgium and the Netherlands).

The “UNESCO Global Geopark” designation, created in 2015, recognizes geological heritage whose scope is international in nature, the statement said, specifying that geoparks serve local communities, combining the preservation of their unique geological heritage with the public and a sustainable approach to development.

The organization continues to promote this concept in regions where there are fewer geoparks, especially in Africa, Arab states and small island developing states.

For this purpose, UNESCO organizes expert missions, customized trainings and consultations at the national and local level, in order to support the preparation of applications for the status of “UNESCO Global Geopark”, the press release concludes.

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