The 36th UNESCO General Conference and Geoparks

During the 36^th UNESCO General Conference which took place in Paris from October 25^th to November 10^th 2011, the cooperation between UNESCO and the Global Geoparks Network, was examined.

Delegates from twenty-four countries took the floor: Australia, Ireland, Chile, Poland, Italy, Kenya, Greece, Switzerland, France, Republic of Korea, Uruguay, Viet Nam, Malaysia, Netherlands, Slovenia, China, Argentina, Dominican Republic, United States of America, Mexico, Germany, Botswana, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Honduras. The Coordinators of the European Geoparks Network, N. Zouros and P McKeever, who represented Greece and the Republic of Ireland respectively, described the activities of the Global Geoparks Network and replied to comments.

The Resolution 36 C/14, was adopted on Novemebr 3^rd by the Science Commission without amendments and subsequently endorsed by the plenum of the General Conference.

RESOLUTION 36 C/14

Background: Looking back on 11 years of Global Geopark activities and the increasing profile of the Global Geoparks Network, which as of September 2011 has 87 members in 27 countries, the need to further define the role of UNESCO has become apparent. During the deliberations at the joint meeting of the Programme and External Relations Commission and the Finance and Administration Commission at the 187th session of the Executive Board, a number of Member States reconfirmed their interest in Geoparks and carried out modifications to the draft decision of document 187 EX/6 Part VI regarding the report by the Director-General on cooperation between UNESCO and the Global Geoparks Network.

Purpose: The General Conference is hereby invited to approve the resolution recommended by the Executive Board at its 187th session (187 EX/Decision 6 Part V) which aims to further explore possible means on how to define the future role of UNESCO in assisting Member States and in cooperating with the Global Geoparks Network.

1. The activities of the Global Geoparks Network focus on the key aims of building sustainable economic development through strong community-based activities including education at all levels and exploring and celebrating the links between geological heritage and other aspects of natural, cultural and intangible heritage.
2. At the 187th session of the Executive Board, a number of Member States confirmed how useful Geoparks were for enabling communities and contributing to sustainable development and education. Delegates highlighted what Geoparks have already achieved, and further noted that UNESCO is the only United Nations specialized agency dealing with the earth sciences, and therefore Geoparks had no other United Nations “home”. After the examination of document 187 EX/6 Part VI, the Executive Board modified the draft decision which is noted below to explore further possible means on how to define a future role for UNESCO in assisting Member States and in cooperating with the Global Geoparks Network.
3. The General Conference may wish to adopt the resolution recommended by the Executive Board contained in paragraph 2 of 187 EX/Decision 6 Part V reproduced below:

The Executive Board:
1. Having examined the document 187 EX/6 Part VI,
2. Recommends that the General Conference adopt the following draft resolution at its 36th session:

The General Conference,
Welcoming the positive impact of Geoparks on education, sustainable development and cultural identity of a region, and the considerable progress of the Global Geoparks Network,
Highlighting the important contribution of geology and Geoparks to climate change and geological hazards mitigation,
Recalling the need to assist Member States in establishing Geoparks in their countries, especially in developing countries and ensuring strong capacity-building in Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa,
Bearing in mind that Geoparks activities have been performed successfully for 11 years and have developed into a global network with 78* members in 26** countries with the full support of the International Union or Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS),
Further recalling the Geoparks initiative contributes to enhancing UNESCO’s visibility
while at the same time having low operating and secretariat costs and the potential to bring extrabudgetary funds to the Organization.

Requests the Director-General:
(a) to continue to improve cooperation between UNESCO and the Global Geoparks Network (GGN) and strengthen global development of Geoparks while improving the quality standards they have already developed,
(b) to ensure a reference to Geoparks in document 36 C/5,
(c) to explore in consultation with Member States the possibilities of formalizing the current Geoparks initiative, inter alia, examining the possibility to transform it into an international UNESCO Geoparks Programme or Initiative, including financial and administrative implications,
(d) to that end to consult in a cost-effective manner with Member States, GGN, experts and all concerned parties, including relevant UNESCO sectors and their programmes to carry out the following actions:

1. examine the feasibility of establishing a possible UNESCO Geoparks Programme or Initiative building on the existing success and experience of the GGN and Geoparks,
2. discuss and formalize the baselines of such a programme or initiative, its working methods, questions of competency, representativeness, involvement of relevant official partners as well as qualified persons,
3. explore fundraising opportunities and modalities which would allow UNESCO to strengthen international networking and assist emerging Geopark projects in developing countries, with a special focus on LAC and Africa,
4. assess options for arrangements for a formal partnership with the GGN,

(e) to report back to the Executive Board at its 190th session.