THE GLOBAL GEOPARKS NETWORK: CELEBRATING EARTH HERITAGE, SUSTAINING LOCAL COMMUNITIES

The Global Network of National Geoparks was founded in 2004, following the model successfully established by the European Geoparks Network in 2000. It now comprises 77 members in 26 nations across the world. The aim of the Global Geoparks Network is to protect and conserve the geological heritage of our planet but to do so in way where local communities can take ownership of these special places and where they can get some sustainable economic benefit from them. While allowing for the sustainable economic development of geoparks, the network actively promotes geoconservation and explicitly forbids the destruction or sale of the geological value of a geopark. Global Geoparks are linked to UNESCO which offers it’s ad-hoc support upon requests from individual member states. This presentation outlines the ethos of the Global Geoparks Network and describes the typical activities of geoparks and how the network functions.