Green Tourism: What Is A Geopark?
If you are looking for an idea of a nature destination for your next vacation, you might find inspiration among the UNESCO Global Geoparks. We propose to discover what a geopark is and in which regions of France you can find one.
A label awarded by UNESCO
UNESCO, which is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, has its headquarters in Paris. This organization is notably known for establishing the list of sites inscribed on the World Heritage List of Humanity.
But it also awards, since 2015, another label: that of the UNESCO World Geoparks.
This label, renewable every 4 years, distinguishes territories that possess a geological heritage of international value.
These protected areas are privileged places to raise awareness of respect for the environment for young and old alike, through sustainable tourism based on the theme of geology.
A worldwide network
UNESCO Global Geoparks are therefore territories whose exceptional geological heritage is highlighted, in relation to the natural and cultural heritage of the territory and in the service of sustainable development.
These protected areas operate as a network at the global and continental level and carry out joint projects to improve the quality of each territory.
To date, there are 147 Geoparks in the world, including 7 in France.
A French Geopark as a model
Did you know that it was a French territory, the Geopark of Haute-Provence, that served as a model for the development of all the others?
The Haute-Provence Geopark was the first to be created by UNESCO in the year 2000.
It is thanks to the experience gained in the territory of the Geological Reserve that this French site was able to serve as a model for the deployment of the geopark concept throughout the world.
It was also in Digne-les-Bains that the International Declaration of the Rights of the Memory of the Earth was adopted in 1991, at the end of the first International Symposium on the Protection of Geological Heritage.
This text still serves as a reference around the world today and makes the Digne-les-Bains region the cradle of all UNESCO Geoparks.
Seven geological gems in France
To this day, France is fortunate to have 7 geoparks labeled by UNESCO.
As we explained above, the oldest is the Geopark of Haute-Provence which shelters multiple geological curiosities.
In the surroundings of Digne-les-Bains, the famous ammonite slab but also the ichthyosaurs, the Velodrome and the clues are all testimonies of the past of the Earth.
Moreover, the Promenade Museum located in Digne-les-Bains is the interpretation center of this geopark.
In France, the other territories recognized and labeled by UNESCO for their remarkable geological features are :
- the Luberon Geopark which houses fossils and fossil footprints of mammals
- the Bauges Geopark where two lakes, Lake Annecy and Lake Bourget bear witness to the great Alpine glaciations
- the Chablais Geopark located between the shores of Lake Geneva and the Mont Blanc massif
- the Monts d'Ardèche Geopark which houses traces of dinosaurs, granite landscapes as well as vestiges of mining and thermal activities in the region.
- the Causses du Quercy Geopark nestled between the Massif Central and the Aquitaine Basin
- the Beaujolais Geopark highlighting a region known for its wine but which is also one of the richest geological territories in France.
