Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

As Redes Europeia e Global dos Geoparques (EGN e GGN): proteção do patrimônio geológico, oportunidade de desenvolvimento local e colaboração entre territórios

2009; Volume: 5; Linguagem: Inglês

10.11606/issn.2316-9087.v5i0p17-26

2316-9087

Rosaria Modica,

Geotourism and Geoheritage Conservation

Geology is a science unknown to the general public and it is not subject to disclosure as are the Natural Sciences. In 34 European countries with geological heritages of particular importance, geologists, local development experts, tour operators and teachers are collaborating to protect and increase the value of the heritage to achieve a better economic development of the area. With the support of UNESCO, the European Geoparks are networking, sharing experiences and spreading their ideas that led to the birth of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network. A lot of the activities of these parks are dedicated to educational projects in order to capture the public interest for the fascinating geological heritage. This article explains the idea behind the European Geoparks Network and UNESCO Global Geoparks Network and how they work, describes the procedures for joining the network, and gives some examples of educational strategies used in different countries which are part of the network.