Geopark

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Geopark
World map of geoparks included in the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network (GGN) as of 2020
Copper Coast Geopark, the first in Ireland.

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.[1][i]

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."[2]

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).[3] UNESCO provides a standard for geoparks and a certification service to parks that apply for it. The service is available to member states of UNESCO.

This list is not the same as the member states of the United Nations. Membership in the UN does not automatically imply membership in UNESCO, even though UNESCO is part of the UN. Both lists have about 193 member nations, but not exactly th same 193. The UN list covers most of the geopolitical world, but the UNESCO list notably lacks the United States and Israel, which resigned in 2018 because they believed UNESCO is anti-Israel. Thus there are no geoparks in US territory.

The UNESCO Global Geoparks Network co-ordinates the activities of the many UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGps) 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.[4]

The Madonie Declaration of 2004, which was signed by Nikolas Zouros for the EGN and Wolfgang Eder for UNESCO,[5] 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 interbnational networks. In 2014 the creation of other regions besides the EGN was allowed and encouraged, permitting geoparks to fulfill their declared global nature.

Etymolgy and usage of geopark

Ge- or geo- is a word-formative prefix derived from the ancient Greek word for "Earth." Due to the use of ancient Greek and Latin words to form international scientific vocabulary, geo- might appear in any modern language of any type by the process of compounding.[6] Since geo- is well known in most modern languages it is especially amenable to word production, the impromptu manufacture of words of self-evident meaning. Geopark and all its associated new geo- words began as produced neologisms but are fast becoming legitimate scientific compounds.

Produced words are often open to interpretation: they mean whatever the writer intended them to mean or whatever the reader interpreted them to mean. Eventually the word receives a common understanding that can be dictionary-defined. "Geopark" is right at that point. Henriques and Briha after listing four interpretations not to be allowed now,[7][ii] cite features that must be present in the application of "geopark:" a development plan, a geoheritage, conservation, and sustainability. These are features that must receive the credibility of the international organizations certifying the park as a geopark, without which certification they cannot be scientific geoparks. The overall qualification, therefore, is that they must be certified as geoparks by the accepted international organizations. No certification, no geopark.

The innovation of geo-compounds is neither new or recent, the most ancient perhaps being the geo-metria, "earth measurement," of ancient Greece.[8] There have been a smattering of "Earth" words ever since. Geo-logia is a relative newcomer, in mediaeval Latin "the study of earthly things" (such as law) in contrast to divine things. It was preempted to refer to the 18th century topics of fossils and rock stratification.[9] Most geo-compounds come from the 19th and early 20th century. Geo- means "Earth" rather than "geological," which would be redundant.[iii]

The current round of innovation to which geo-park belongs dates to the last two decades of the 20th century and the first of the 21st, although it may not be over yet. They began as marketing terms in the vending of what Farsani calls "sustainable tourism,"[10] characterizing it as "a new niche market,"[11] the key words being, in addition to geopark, geotourism, geoheritage, geosite, geoconservation, and geodiversity.[iv] It is not possible to discover what individuals first innovated the words. Authors such as Farsani can only state the groups among which they were thought to be first current.[12]

The term “geopark” was apparently first used to describe a newly instituted park in the west Vulkaneifel[v] district of the Eifel Mountains of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.[13] The region had tended to be economically depressed due to the preference of buyers and sellers for markets in nearby France. They did have a noted geological asset: a now dormant forested volcanic range. The land shows evidence of ancient volcanos, including crater lakes, mineral springs, and pipe formations.[14] The place also abounds in fossils. Although of interest to scientists and hikers, the terrain was generally regarded as a liability, some 19th-century plans even having been made to fill lakes.[vi]

Geoconservation timeline

Fossil Grove, a site in Glasgow, Scotland, individually protected on discovery in 1887.

After pointing out that the "origins of geoheritage conservation" have long been under debate, Du and Girault, two historians of geoconservation at the National Museum of Natural History, Paris, in a brief survey of the current literature, distinguish three historical phases of "geoconservation activity."[15]

Unsystematic conservation

The oldest is unsystematic protection of individual sites. For example, the earliest known of modern times is the decree of Rudolph Augustus, Duke of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, ruler of a small German principality, in 1668 that Baumannshöhle Cave in the Harz Mountains was to be conserved. The practice of singling out geosites for individual protection subsequently spread through Denmark, Switzerland, Belgium, and the British Isles.[16]

Systematic national conservation

Du’s and Girault’s next historical phase is “systematic process of geoconsevation.”[15] Going beyond the protection of an individual site, the applicable government intends “to assess geological heritage sites of particular significance for research, education and training as well as entertainment and aesthetic enjoyment,” that is to say, instead of merely reacting to single sites brought to their attention, the government is proactively seeking out sites that fit a sustainable geotype.

The earliest paradigm of systematic protection is the national park system of the United States, stimulated by the acquisition of large tracts of public western lands that must be surveyed and dealt with, as opposed to Europe, especially Britain, where the land was already privately owned.[15] National parks are the responsibility of the National Park Service, an agency of the United States Department of the Interior. The service was established by the National Park Service Organic Act of 1916. It became part of Title 16 of the United States Code.[17][vii]

American systematic conservation, however, is not geoconservation in the vocabulary of sustainable parks. Although parallel to and prior to European geoconservation, it does not lead directly to any geoparks under an international authority. There are no doubt mutual influences, but the emphasis of geoparks is on sustainabilty, the ability to stay "in the black" by marketing natural assets, while American parks are a public service regardless of whether they make money. The Americans in fact do not participate in any geoparks program, have no geoparks, and resigned from UNESCO in 2018. They are conspicuously absent from geoconservational timelines. Conservation, however, is a primary goal.

Systematic international conservation

The movement assumed international proportions with the holding of an international convention in 1988 in Amsterdam. Scientists from only a few nations attended. Germany was interested in conserving its scenic Rhine River terrain with its castles, the toll stations of another age. The first geopark was founded in Germany, 1989. In 1991, in Digne, France, a considerably expanded convention set out a platform for international cooperation in establishing geoparks.[18] In 2015 UNESCO changed its name to UNESCO Global Geoparks, which supports and advises the establishment of geoparks by member countries, but not necessarily only them.[19] ö

Types of geopark

The word geopark is no longer open to the process of innovation through word production. It has been defined by various orgnizations in the field of earth science. An essential element of the definition is that a geopark must be branded as part of an international geopark network. A national park is not necessarily a geopark. For example, the United States has a system of national parks, but none of them are geoparks. Canada, on the other hand, has several.

A geopark network requires the branding of an international scientific association. They only brand protected areas that meet certain standards, as presented above. The branding has no effect on the previous status of an area. It might already have been other types of park, such as a national park. If the geopark branding is removed, it is still those other types of park.[20] No matter what the type, management, the exercise of authority over the area, is always national;[21] the scientific organizations have no sovereignity; they are simply advisory and certifying agencies guided by decisions made at international conventions.

National geoparks

Transnational geoparks

Regional geoparks

A regional geopark is a member of an independent network of geoparks that has agreed with UNESCO to provide candidates for the global network. All members of the regional network are a priori members of a national geopark network. They are also members of the global network if they are Green Card Geoparks. A regional geopark would not be a global geopark if it has not yet been certified as such or its certification has lapsed and it has applied for recertification (Yellow Card status).

A region is more than one country. A current list of accepted regions is:

UNESCO Global Geoparks

Main article: UNESCO Global Geoparks

A global geopark is one that has been certified to the fullest extent. It is per se a member of a regional geopark network and also a member of a national geopark network, if its nation has one, or a transnational geopark. A cerfification is good for four years, after which it must be certified again. In the language of certification, a global geopark in good standing is termed a "green-card geopark" on the analogy of visas. If a geopark fails certification it is given two years to pass, in which it is a "yellow-card geopark." After two years if it is still uncertified it is a "red-card geopark;" that is, no longer a geopark. Recertified geoparks do not have to keep the same borders; only a portion may be recertified.

See also: UNESCO Global Geoparks § List by country

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The source is an on-line journal without page numbers, described at Sustainability Home. In the article a full description of "the geopark concept" with relevant geo-vocabulary can be found under 1. Introduction.
  2. ^ "a new ... protected area," "geological park," a protected "geological heritage," a topic "just about geology."
  3. ^ For example, geology would be "geological study," which only repeats the defined word. The "Earth" meaning, however, is not a hard and fast rule if the producers of the geo-word intended "geological:" Farsani 2012 page 23, geo-tourism for "geological tourism."
  4. ^ As illustration to the process, Farsani innovates several more ad hoc (Page 2): "Moreover, geoparks strive to involve local communities in ... geo-marketing, such as geotours, geoproducts, geo-museums, geo-sports, geo-lodging, geo-restaurants and geo-bakeries."
  5. ^ The name of the former district of Daun was changed to Vulkaneifel in 2007. The town of Daun remains Daun.
  6. ^ The general sentiment of the 19th century was that agriculturally non-productive land should be made productive by severe alteration of the terrain. The Italians had filled in a number of classically known volcanic lakes in central Italy, rendering them into farmland.
  7. ^ The USC is far from stable, being modified year to year by repeals, revisions and additions from new acts. The code notes these. In references to or quotes from the code the year is usually stated. The edition here is the 2004. Except where modified it retains the wording of 1916.

Citations

  1. ^ Herrera-Franco, Gricelda; et al. (2021). "Worldwide Research on Geoparks through Bibliometric Analysis". Sustainability. 13 (3): 1175.
  2. ^ Mc Keever, P.; Zouros, Nikolas (December 2005). "Geoparks: Celebrating earth heritage, sustaining local communities" (PDF). Episodes. 28 (4): 274–278.
  3. ^ "International Geoscience and Geoparks programme (IGGP)". www.unesco.org. UNESCO. 2021.
  4. ^ "Introduction". Geoparks. European Geoparks Network. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  5. ^ "The Madonie Declaration" (PDF). Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  6. ^ "ge- or geo-". Webster's Third New International Dictionary with Seven Language Dictionary Unabridged. Vol. I. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica. 1986.
  7. ^ Henriques & Brilha 2017, pp. 349–350
  8. ^ "geometry (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  9. ^ "geology (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  10. ^ Farsani 2012, p. 1
  11. ^ Farsani 2012, p. 6
  12. ^ Farsani's main section on etymology and usage of the new geo-words is Chapter 2.
  13. ^ Henriques & Brilha 2017, p. 350
  14. ^ "Die Augen der Eifel: Unsere Maare" (in German). Natur- und Geopark Vulkaneifel. 2021.
  15. ^ a b c Du & Girault 2018, pp. 1–2
  16. ^ Brilha, José (2015). "Geoconservation, history of". Encyclopedia of Mineral and Energy Policy. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
  17. ^ The code referenced here may be found at "United States Code (USC) Title 16 – CONSERVATION". U.S. Government Publishing Office. 2004. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  18. ^ Gricelda Herrera-Franco; et al. (2021). "Worldwide Research on Geoparks through Bibliometric Analysis". Sustainability. 13 (13, 1175): 2. doi:10.3390/su13031175.
  19. ^ "UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGp)". UNESCO. 2021.
  20. ^ Farsani 2012, p. 40, Table 2.6
  21. ^ Farsani 2012, p. 31

Reference bibliography

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