• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO)’s Executive Board has approved the addition of 18 new sites situated in Brazil, China, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, and Spain to the UNESCO Global Geoparks network.
• The total number of geoparks in the network becomes 213 geoparks in 48 countries.
• Newly designated UNESCO Global Geoparks:

 

S.No	UNESCO Global Geopark	Country	Details
1	Schelde Delta	Belgium and Kingdom of the Netherlands	Hold a unique geological position between the sinking North Sea Basin and the rising Brabant Massif.
2	Uberaba	Brazil	It is situated in southeast Brazil within South America’s second-largest biome.
3	Enshi Grand Canyon-Tenglongdong Cave	China	The site, located in the southwest of Hubei Province, is a rich cultural heritage of the Tujia, Miao, and Dong ethnic minority groups.
4	Linxia	China	The geopark, located in Gansu Province, features a landscape characterised by mid-high mountains, hills, and basins.
5	Longyan	China	It offers a geological record of tectonic evolution in southeast China covering a period of approximately 300 million years
6	Mount Changbaishan	China	The site, located in the southeast Jilin Province, is one of the best-preserved composite volcanoes from the past several million year.
7	Wugongshan	China	It is located in the junction of three cities, Pingxiang, Yichun, and Ji’an.
8	Xingyi	China	The Wanfenglin site, located in Guizhou Province, displays more than 20,000 karst peaks
9	Biokovo-Imotski Lakes	Croatia	The Biokovo-Imotski Lakes are situated in central Dalmatia at the intersection of Mediterranean and Central European landscapes and cultures
10	The South Fyn Archipelago	Denmark	This includes both terrestrial and marine zones that transcribe approximately 800,000 years of geological history.
11	Impact Crater Lake – Lappajärvi	Finland	It is located in South Ostrobothnia in the west of Finland. It is recognised as Europe’s largest impact crater lake.
12	Armorique	France	This includes vertical cliffs of the Crozon Peninsula, the Arrée Mountains, Brest Bay, and the River Aulne estuary.
13	Normandie-Maine	France	This offers remnants of a geological history spanning 600 million years including ancient megalithic sites.
14	Meteora Pyli	Greece	The site located in the Thessaly region is known for towering Meteora sandstone columns that reach heights of up to 300 meters.
15	Bükk Region	Hungary	geological environments and comprises a near-continuous sedimentary sequence spanning more than 300 million years.
16	Land of Extinct Volcanoes	Poland	It is a geological environment and comprises a near-continuous sedimentary sequence spanning more than 300 million years
17	Oeste	Portugal	The site located along Portugal’s central west coast includes over 72 km of Atlantic coastline, with more than 15 km of sandy beaches
18	Calatrava Volcanoes. Ciudad Real	Spain	It is situated in the southwest of the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha, in central Spain.

 

ABOUT UNESCO GLOBAL GEOPARKS (UGGPS):

• UGGPs are unique areas with global geological importance, managed with a focus on protection, education, and sustainable development.
• The UGGP concept started in the mid-1990s, officially forming in 2015.
• Governed by entities recognized legally under national legislation.
• The title of a geopark lasts four years before reassessment.
• Joining the Global Geoparks Network (GGN) is compulsory, promoting local pride, area identification, and geotourism revenue.

ABOUT GLOBAL GEOPARK NETWORK (GGN):

• Established in 2014 and governed by French law, the Global Geopark Network (GGN) is an NGO that encompasses all UNESCO Geoparks globally.
• Initially set up in 2004 as an international initiative under UNESCO, it now serves as UNESCO’s official partner for geopark operations, comprising 213 geoparks across 48 countries.