UNESCO has approved the designation of eight new global geoparks, bringing the number of sites in the Global Geoparks Network to 177 in 46 countries, the Paris-based UN said on Wednesday.
According to UNESCO, the geopark is an area of exceptional geological heritage and a strategy to promote this heritage for the benefit of the local community.
Local communities manage and create geoparks to celebrate the Earth’s heritage and achieve sustainable development of their region through “geotourism”, says UNESCO.
“It’s much more than a label. This is a recognition of geological sites of international value, “said Christoph Vandenberge, head of the UNESCO’s Department of Earth Sciences and Geoparks, at a press conference.
“You can’t express everything in monetary terms. Sometimes people rediscover and re-recognize how connected they really are to their landscape.”
Two countries, Luxembourg and Sweden, have joined the Global Network for the first time by identifying their first geoparks.
There are five geoparks in Canada: Stonehammer in New Brunswick, Tumbler Ridge in British Columbia, Perce in Quebec, Discovery in Newfoundland and Cliffs of Fundy in Nova Scotia. No new Canadian sites have been added to the list this year.
The eight new UNESCO global geoparks are:
Serido testifies to the last 600 million years of Earth’s history and is home to one of the largest scheelite mineralizations in South America, says UNESCO. (Credit: Getson Luís / Seridó Global Geopark of UNESCO)
UNESCO Global Geopark Serido, Brazil
According to UNESCO, the UNESCO Seridó Global Geopark is home to more than 120,000 people, including communities such as Quilombolas, “who keep alive the memory of their enslaved ancestors from Africa.”
The geopark traces the last 600 million years of Earth’s history and is home to one of the largest scheelite mineralizations in South America, according to UNESCO.
Southern Canyons Pathways has some of the most remarkable canyons in South America. (Credit: GABRIEL ZAPAROLLI: © Gabriel Zaparolli through UNESCO)
UNESCO Global Geopark in the Southern Canyons, Brazil
Caminhos dos Cânions do Sul in southern Brazil is characterized by Atlantic forests, which are one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, says UNESCO.
The location also has some of the most remarkable canyons in South America.
The water covers about 21% of this geopark, while the trees occupy more than half of it. (Credit: Johannes Sipponen / Salpausselkä Geopark)
Salpauselkä UNESCO Global Geopark, Finland
The UNESCO Salpauselkä Global Geopark is located in southern Finland. According to UNESCO, water covers about 21% of the geopark, while trees occupy more than half of it.
The hundreds of lakes in the geopark, as well as the long, unique Salpauros ridges, are distinctive features of the terrain.
A meteorite crashed into the Earth at this place about 15 million years ago, says UNESCO. (Credit: Dietmar Denger / Geopark Ries e. V. through UNESCO)
Ries Global Geopark of UNESCO, Germany
The UNESCO Ries Global Geopark is mainly in Bavaria, with a small part in Baden-Württemberg. A meteorite crashed into the Earth at this place about 15 million years ago, says UNESCO.
According to NASA’s Earth Observatory, the Nordlinger Ries Shock Crater is the best-preserved meteorite crater in Europe.
This geopark is rich in sites such as caves, holes and underground streams that highlight a geological history dating back over 250 million years. (Credit: Kefalonia-Ithaca through UNESCO)
Kefalonia-Ithaca UNESCO Global Geopark, Greece
Kefalonia – Ithaca is a Heptane island group in western Greece.
The geopark is rich in sites such as caves, potholes and underground streams that highlight a geological history dating back more than 250 million years.
The UNESCO Mllerdall Global Geopark in Luxembourg has been a tourist destination since the late 18th century. (Credit: NGPM, Uli Fielitz through UNESCO)
UNESCO Mullertal Global Geopark, Luxembourg
The UNESCO Mllerdall Global Geopark in Luxembourg is one of the “most spectacular sandstone landscapes” in Western Europe and has been a tourist destination since the late 1800s, according to UNESCO.
It contains the Luxembourg sandstone formation, which can be up to 100 meters thick and comes from the Lower Lias period (205 to 180 million years ago).
The UNESCO Global Geopark Buzău Land is home to 45,000 people in the Carpathian bend region of Romania. (Credit: NGO Buzău Land / Răzvan-Gabriel Popa through UNESCO)
Buzau Land UNESCO Global Geopark, Romania
The UNESCO Global Geopark Buzău Land is home to 45,000 people in the Carpathian bend region of Romania.
According to UNESCO, the geopark has 40 million years of geological history and is one of the most geodynamically active places in Europe.
The Platbergens in western Sweden are known for their nature of 15 flat-topped mountains sculpted by erosion 115,000 years ago during the last ice age. (Credit: Henrik Theodorson through UNESCO)
UNESCO Global Geopark Platåbergens, Sweden
Platbergen in western Sweden is known for its nature of 15 flat-topped mountains sculpted by erosion 115,000 years ago during the last ice age, UNESCO says.
The Västgöta plain, with its shallow lakes, hills and well-preserved cultural landscapes, is also included in the region. According to UNESCO, here is the first known stone church in Sweden, built by Christian Vikings in the early 11th century.
UNESCO said in a statement that COVID-19 could not evaluate new applications from Asia, Africa or the Arab region, but several geopark projects were under way in those parts of the world.
While the UNESCO World Heritage Site is better known and includes landmarks with legal protection from international conventions, the title Global Geopark is relatively new and was created in 2015.
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