What is an Une­sco Glo­bal Geopark?

”UNE­SCO Glo­bal Geo­parks are sing­le, uni­fi­ed geo­grap­hi­cal are­as whe­re sites and lands­ca­pes of inter­na­tio­nal geo­lo­gi­cal sig­ni­fi­can­ce are mana­ged with a holistic con­cept of pro­tec­tion, educa­tion and sustai­nab­le development.”

Platå­ber­gens Geo­park has been given sta­tus as Swe­den’s first Une­sco Glo­bal Geo­park. A geo­park is an area that tells the sto­ry of our planet’s deve­lop­ment. The geo­lo­gi­cal pro­ces­ses that have been going on for mil­li­ons of years – and are still going on – have given the area the geo­lo­gi­cal phe­no­me­na and envi­ron­ments that can only be found here, or in only a few pla­ces glo­bal­ly. 

Today the­re are 213 geo­parks across 48 countri­es. The­se geo­parks col­la­bo­ra­te via the Glo­bal Geo­parks Network, which aims to con­nect geo­parks all around the world. Being part of this network also puts our regi­on on the world map. Glo­bal Geo­parks are appoin­ted by the UN agen­cy UNE­SCO. Other examples of UNE­SCO con­cepts are World Heri­tage Sites and Biosphe­re Reser­ves. 

AN UNE­SCO GLO­BAL GEO­PARK HAS THREE MAIN MIS­SIONS: 

Geo­tou­rism

Deve­lo­ping tou­rism in the area in a sustai­nab­le way.

Geo­e­duca­tion

Spre­a­ding know­led­ge about the con­nec­tion between geo­lo­gy 

and natu­ral and cul­tural heritages.

Geocon­ser­va­tion

Con­tri­bu­ting to sustai­nab­le mana­ge­ment of the area, with futu­re gene­ra­tions in mind.

Geo­parks are are­as with a uni­que GEO­LO­GI­CAL HERI­TAGE of inter­na­tio­nal impor­tan­ce. The geo­parks have pla­ces whe­re visi­tors can expe­ri­ence and get to know the histo­ry of our pla­net – pla­ces that help us understand why the lands­cape looks the way it does. 

Geo­parks also con­tain an excep­tio­nal and rich NATU­RAL HERI­TAGE. Fasci­na­ting lands­ca­pes, vary­ing eco­systems, and a rich bio­lo­gi­cal diver­si­ty are major values that allow visi­tors to understand the chal­leng­es that our pla­net faces. 

Geo­parks are mee­ting pla­ces whe­re Earth’s histo­ry meets the histo­ry of man­kind. Visi­tors can tra­vel through time, from the first sett­lers via the indust­ri­al deve­lop­ment to our modern soci­e­ty, which is a valu­ab­le CUL­TURAL HERI­TAGE. 

The IMMA­TE­RI­AL HERI­TAGE bears wit­ness to the clo­se rela­tions­hip between the peop­le living here and the land they have worked for thousands of years – sto­ri­es, legends, and myt­hs that we risk losing if they are not trans­fer­red to futu­re generations.

Geo­park networks

In the glo­bal geo­parks network the­re are 177 geo­parks in 46 countri­es today. The­se geo­parks are divi­ded into regi­o­nal sub-networks. Our loca­tion, in Swe­den, pla­ces us in the Euro­pe­an Geo­parks Network which con­cists of 94 geo­parks spre­ad over 28 euro­pe­an countri­es. Read more about glo­bal geo­parks and the dif­fe­rent networks via the links below.