Francesc Xavier Ferraro Castillo
Geologist and Assistant Professor
Geological Civil Engineering
Catholic University of the Holy Conception
www.geoparquebiobio.com
The definition of geopark might hold a multitude of concepts based on what we want to refer to or according to which one is the diffusion objective, but we might sinthesise this into a geopark as an area with clearly defined borders and large enough to work for local economic and cultural development, showing through a variety of sites of international, regional and/or national importance, the geological history of a region, events and processes that shape it.
The geopark must consider the entire geographic environment in the region and it won’t include only the places of geological importance. A sinergy between geodiversity, biodiversity and culture, besides tangible and intangible heritage, such as non-geological themes, which must be highlighted as an integral part of each site.
Geoparks must promote sustainable local economic development, primarily through geotourism, involving authorities, local communities, private interests and both research and educational organisms, in the design, operation, and the plan of economic and cultural development of the region.
A geopark must have an administration unit or partnership with an effective management infrastructure, appropriate qualified personnel and sustainable financial support, and have effective professional management structures.
A geopark must rely on strong support from communities and local participation, with a wide consulting process that should involve the population to facilitate the approval of the planned geopark.
A UNESCO Worldwide Geopark must be regulated by four fundamental pillars:
– Geological heritage of international relevance
– Unit of management
– Visibility
– Networking (local, regional, national and international)
Inside a geopark, there are many thematic areas addressed in order to achieve an ‘Integral Territorial Development’:
| Natural resources | Geoconservation |
| Climate change | Education |
| Geological risks | Sustainable development |
| Science | Local and indigenous community |
| Culture | Gender equality |
UNESCO, Global Geopark Network and 17 SDGs
There are currently 147 UNESCO Global Geoparks in 41 countries. These geoparks are grouped in many regional networks, such as the European Geopark Network (EGN), the Asia-Pacific Geopark Network (APGN) and the Latin American and Caribbean Geopark Network (GeoLAC).
UNESCO’s work with geoparks began in 2001. In 2004, 17 European and 8 Chinese geoparks gathered at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris to establish the Global Geopark Region (GGN), where national initiatives on geological heritage contribute and benefit from their membership in a global exchange and cooperation network.
On 17th November 2015, the 195 member states of UNESCO ratified the creation of a new label, UNESCO Global Geoparks, during the 38th General Conference of the organisation. This expresses the governmental recognition of the importance to manage geological sites and exceptional landscapes in an integral way.
The organisation supports efforts from member states to establish UNESCO Global Geoparks all troughout the world, in a close collaboration with the Global Geopark Network.
UNESCO Global Geoparks are not left apart of contributing to the 2030 Agenda for the different Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and, from geopark territories, there is work with a close relation between their different thematic areas in the territory, along with a transverse vision to the 2030 Agenda and the 17 SDGs.
Geoparks in Chile and the Bío Bío Coastal Mining Geopark
Starting from this year, Chile joins GeoLAC, through the recognition of the first UNESCO Global Geopark, the Kütralkura geopark. Other geopark projects are those following its steps, such as Cajón del Maipo Geopark, Petorca Valley Geopark, Puchuncaví Geopark, Pillanmapu Andino Geopark and the Bío Bío Coastal Mining Geopark, the one we will refer to.
The Bío Bío Coastal Mining Geopark is located in the coastal area of the Bío Bío Region, spanning 12 of 33 communes in the region (Tomé, Penco, Talcahuano, Hualpén, San Pedro de la Paz, Coronel, Lota, Arauco, Curanilahue, Lebu, Los Álamos and Cañete), with an area of 4.100 km², a population of 787.000 people, from which more than 100.000 belong to indigenous groups, with more than 128 communities and associations.
The mission of the geopark is to promote economic and social development at geosites in the Bío Bío Region through the sustainable conservation of its geological, environmental, cultural and industrial heritage.
The vision is to be recognised as a geopark where it’s encouraged to live and create a sustainable territory. Through knowldege transfer, education, awareness and development, with governance directly linked to the communities.
Inside the geopark, we can meet a geology dating back to more than 320 million years, through a tour across 21 sites of geological interest spread all throughout the geography of the territory, in four geo-routes: Palenteological, Coal Mining Heritage and Santa María Island, which will be compiled in the Geotourist and Heritage Guide to the Bío Bío Coastal Mining Geopark.
