Geoparks Questionary
Dear colleagues
At this moment, the GGN fundraising programme is still in a preliminary stage.
We are not yet at the stage of decisions, implementation or conclusions. We are at the stage of knowledge. We are collecting, organising and analysing data from the 241 UNESCO Global Geoparks, distributed across 51 countries.
For the first time, we are trying to build a global and realistic picture of our Network, which includes its capacities, its needs, its opportunities, its diversity and its potential.
Without this information, any fundraising strategy would be incomplete and fragile. We cannot design a serious global approach based on impressions, isolated examples or assumptions. We need evidence. We need comparable information.
In order to be able to negotiate, we need accurate data on Geoparks characteristics and achievements
Last December we have circulated a first questionnaire and the majority has replied positively.
The Network increased and in order to be more effective in our efforts we need additional data
That is why a second questionnaire is so important.
Please find the questionnaire here, also in pdf here.
We ask all Geoparks to respond rapidly.
Please do not delay your response because you are waiting for perfect numbers. If exact figures are available, of course, please send them. But if exact figures are not available, send estimated figures.
A serious estimate is much better than silence. Partial information is much better than absence of information.
What matters now is to build a global picture that is as complete and as useful as possible.
And I ask you to remember something essential when answering.
When we speak about a Geopark, we speak about the whole territory.
We are not speaking only about the offices, visitor centres, museums, trails, staff or infrastructures directly managed by the Geopark management body.
A Geopark is the full territory: its municipalities, its communities, its schools, its local producers, its tourism actors, its cultural institutions, its protected areas, its businesses, its universities, its associations, its landscapes and its people.
Therefore, when we collect data, we must think as Geoparks. We must think territorially.
GGN Working Group on Geological heritage & Geoconservation
CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
FOR THE GEOCONSERVATION BOOK entitled:
Geoconservation in UNESCO Global Geoparks
Dear colleagues
Geological heritage represents an indivisible and fundamental part of the Geoparks´ heritage. The Global Geoparks Network (GGN) comprises the widest network of territories with a clear commitment to promote and protect geological heritage.
The GGN Working Group on Geological heritage and Geoconservation is calling all colleagues who wish to participate in the Book Geoconservation in UNESCO Global Geoparks to submit their will to contribute with a chapter presenting a Good practice in Geoconservation on the above subjects:
Best Practices in Geoconservation in UNESCO Global Geoparks (maximum 5 pages each example)
- Best Practices in the Inventory and Assessment of Geological Heritage
- Best Practices in Legal Protection, Surveillance and Site Safeguarding
- Best Practices in Infrastructure for Geoconservation
- Best Practices in the Conservation of Palaeontological Heritage
- Best Practices in Geoconservation in Active Quarrying Contexts
- Best Practices in Geoconservation in Karst & caves
- Best Practices in Geoconservation in Volcanic areas
- Best Practices in Geoconservation in Active geological processes and geohazards
- Best practices in Geoconservation in coastal areas.
- Best practices in Geoconservation related to climate change
- Best Practices in Community Engagement for Geoconservation
Those wishing to participate in the Book chapters should sent a message to GGN Secretariat before July 30th, 2026, with the following data:
Authors Name:
Geopark:
Best practice:
Article Title:
Short abstract (100 words):
The Authors will be contacted by the GGN WG before the end of August 2026.
The Book should be published and will be distributed during the International Conference on UNESCO Global Geoparks in September 2027.
This long-demanded publication aims to analyze the historical contribution of geoparks to the geoconservation movement, will set the framework of geoconservation in UNESCO Global Geoparks and will show some of the best practices conducted in our territories.