UNESCO Global Geoparks Network’s expansion reached 241 sites across 51 countries, with 12 new designations covering over 882,000 square kilometers while advancing geological heritage protection, climate education, and community-led sustainable development.
The UNESCO Global Geoparks Network’s expansion brings territories across China, France, Greece, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Portugal, Russia, Tunisia, and Uruguay, recognized for their rich geological heritage, combining conservation, environmental education, and sustainable approaches to development while supporting Indigenous peoples and local communities, promoting their culture and knowledge. Tunisia and Uruguay received their first-ever geopark designations, marking significant geographic diversification for the program established in 2015.
“Every rock formation, every canyon, and every fossil tells a story that belongs to all humanity,” UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany stated. “In just ten years, UNESCO Global Geoparks have shown that protecting geological heritage also means advancing science, strengthening education, and building local resilience.”
UNESCO Global Geoparks are unified geographical areas where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with holistic concepts of protection, education, and sustainable development. Each geopark uses geological heritage, connected with natural and cultural heritage, to enhance awareness of sustainable resource use, climate change mitigation, and natural hazard risk reduction.
The UNESCO Global Geoparks Network’s expansion followed evaluations by the Global Geoparks Council, comprising international experts who assess applications before the Executive Board’s decisions. Sites receive designation for four-year periods, after which they undergo thorough revalidation to ensure ongoing compliance with standards.
Changshan in China, located at the junction of the Yangtze and Cathaysia massifs along the Jiangshan-Shaoxing tectonic belt, showcases over one billion years of geological history. The mountainous landscape features a subtropical monsoon climate with rich biodiversity, including evergreen broad-leaved forests, functioning as an exceptional natural geological museum and laboratory for paleontological studies.
Mt. Siguniang, also in China, demonstrates geological diversity reflecting plateau formation processes. The site enables visitors to understand mountain-building forces shaping East Asian landscapes while supporting local communities through sustainable tourism development, balancing conservation with economic opportunity.
The UNESCO Global Geoparks Network’s expansion continues to spotlight exceptional geological landscapes like China’s Mt. Siguniang, where ancient plateau formation processes come to life for visitors while sustainable tourism creates lasting economic opportunities for surrounding communities. Photo courtesy of the Mt. Siguniang Geopark.
Sarawak Delta in Malaysia encompasses the capital city of Kuching, designated a UNESCO City of Gastronomy, where traditional street food and kopitiam culture blend with fine dining and festivals. Home to over 600,000 people, the geopark showcases regional ethnic diversity through cultural practices, including the Eagle dance of Bidayuh Indigenous peoples. Traditional agricultural, aquacultural, and craft-making practices, alongside modern ecotourism, are supported by strong transport networks that link the region to the national and international stage.
Lenggong, also in Malaysia, protects Southeast Asia’s longest record of early human habitation, spanning nearly two million years, featuring archaeological sites where Perak Man, the oldest complete human skeleton in the region at 11,000 years, was discovered alongside stone tool workshops, cave paintings, and geological formations revealing human evolution and adaptation in tropical environments.
Algarvensis in southern Portugal’s Algarve region presents a geological history spanning 330 million years. Sites include tsunami deposits at Lagoa dos Salgados, formed during the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake; the Loulé Salt Mine, Portugal’s deepest point open to the public; and Evaristo Beach, rich in Miocene epoch fossils from 23 to 5.3 million years ago. The geopark aims to rebalance tourism, traditionally concentrated on beaches, by directing visitors toward inland villages that support communities through handicraft purchases and local food experiences.
Joyce Country and Western Lakes in Ireland owes its geodiversity to the Grampian-Taconic Orogeny, a mountain-forming period that occurred approximately 450 million years ago. The region features extensive fossil records and diverse geological formations, attracting researchers and educational visitors while maintaining traditional land-use practices.
Nisyros in Greece, part of the Dodecanese island group, was shaped by volcanic eruptions within the past 150,000 years. The site features one of the best-preserved calderas in the Aegean, along with lava domes, volcanic cores, and hydrothermal craters, including Stefanos, one of Europe’s largest volcanic craters. Geology’s influence is evident in the volcanic-stone architecture of villages such as Nikía and Mandraki, while volcanic soil supports endemic and rare plant species.
Miné-Akiyoshidai Karst Plateau in Japan, also a UNESCO Global Geoparks Network’s expansion site, showcases one of Asia’s largest karst landscapes formed over 300 million years, featuring extensive limestone caves, including Akiyoshido, one of Japan’s longest at 10 kilometers, alongside distinctive karst formations preserving ancient coral reef fossils from when the region lay beneath tropical seas.
Toratau in Russia’s Republic of Bashkortostan features ancient coral reefs transformed into dramatic limestone mountains, including the iconic Toratau peak, a sacred site in Bashkir culture. The declaration aims to preserve the 400-million-year-old marine fossils from the Devonian period, when the region lay beneath a shallow tropical sea, demonstrating mountain formation processes and deep cultural connections between geological heritage and indigenous traditions.
The UNESCO Global Geoparks Network’s expansion reaches into Russia’s Republic of Bashkortostan with the designation of Toratau, where 400-million-year-old Devonian marine fossils and sacred limestone peaks and caves, such as the Oktyabrskaya Cave, reveal both the region’s ancient tropical seafloor origins and the deep cultural ties between the Bashkir people and their geological heritage. Photo courtesy of the Toratau UNESCO Global Geopark.
Terres d’Hérault in France features geohike routes enabling visitors to explore geological formations through curated walking experiences. The trail combines physical activity with geological education, demonstrating how geoparks make scientific knowledge accessible to general audiences.
Dahar became Tunisia’s first geopark, highlighting desert geology and expanding UNESCO Global Geoparks’ representation in North Africa and the Arab States, where geoparks remain less common. Manantiales Serranos gave Uruguay its first geopark designation, showcasing ancient metamorphic rocks and expanding the network into South America through the Latin American and Caribbean Geopark Network.
The UNESCO Global Geoparks Network’s expansion follows bottom-up processes involving all relevant local and regional stakeholders and authorities. This community-centered approach ensures geopark designation reflects local priorities and capacities rather than top-down impositions. Communities participate in application development, management planning, and ongoing operations.
UNESCO continues to promote geopark development in Africa, the Arab States, and Small Island Developing States through capacity-building initiatives. The organization facilitates expert missions that provide technical guidance, conducts tailored training sessions that address regional contexts, and offers individual consultations at national and local scales, supporting application quality.
The four-year designation period with mandatory revalidation creates accountability mechanisms ensuring geoparks maintain standards over time. This periodic review examines management effectiveness, educational programming quality, depth of community engagement, and conservation outcomes, creating incentives for sustained excellence.
Geoparks demonstrate how protecting geological heritage generates multiple benefits. Scientific research advances through protected access to significant geological formations. Educational programming brings earth science concepts to diverse audiences, including schoolchildren, university students, and general visitors. Local economies benefit from geotourism, creating employment and supporting traditional industries.
Climate change education is a prominent feature of UNESCO Global Geoparks programming. Geological records preserved in geopark landscapes reveal past climate variations, providing context for current changes. Educational initiatives help communities understand climate science, adaptation strategies, and mitigation approaches grounded in local geological contexts.
Natural hazard risk reduction represents another priority area. Geoparks in volcanic, seismic, or tsunami-prone regions use geological knowledge to educate communities about hazards and preparedness. Understanding geological processes underlying natural disasters enables more effective emergency planning and response.
The 882,000 square-kilometer total area covered by the UNESCO Global Geoparks network represents a significant global territory under integrated geological heritage management. This scale enables landscape-level conservation addressing geological features requiring large protected areas while supporting substantial human populations through sustainable development approaches.
Unlike World Heritage Sites or Biosphere Reserves, UNESCO Global Geoparks use Earth’s ancient history as a living foundation for the future. By uniting geological preservation with community-led growth, this expanding network transforms 51 nations into a global classroom for sustainability, education, and local resilience.
