The UNESCO Global Geoparks Book: Celebrating Earth Heritage, Sustaining Local Communities

Scattered all over our planet are spectacular locations whose unique geological features tell the story of the Earth's evolution over millions of years. These astounding natural landscapes, each with their own specific topographies and cultures, are the UNESCO Global Geoparks.

Encompassing 213 sites in 48 countries, the UNESCO Global Geoparks are a vast network of "living laboratories" that showcase nature in its most raw and glorious form. Accompanied by robust local customs, the UNESCO Global Geoparks are sites of both natural and historic importance. The UNESCO Global Geoparks shines a light on these ever-evolving, vital places, which are crucial to our collective future and deserve our appreciation and protection more than ever. 

This beautifully illustrated book may be ordered from Gestalten, and will be available for download from UNESCO after 26 March 2025.

The surface of the Earth is a record of the past – its valleys, mountains and landscapes tell a story that dates back 4.5 billion years. Preserving this geological heritage, which is so inexorably linked to our own, is the aim of the UNESCO Global Geoparks programme. 

Established in 2015, the Global Geopark label seeks to recognise exceptional sites that reveal our multifaceted geological history, while sustaining them for future generations. In doing so, it builds on the principles of the Digne Declaration of 1991, which sought to protect the right to the memory of the Earth.

Today, there are 213 UNESCO Global Geoparks in 48 countries around the world. With unique topographies, cultures and climates, these spectacular landscapes are filled with flora and fauna, as well as a tapestry of geological formations.

Take the Ngorongoro Lengai UNESCO Global Geopark in the United Republic of Tanzania, home to a 27-meter-long trail of footprints attributed to one of the earliest human species, Australopithecus afarensis, dating back 3.6 million years. Or the Langkawi Archipelago in Malaysia features Cambrian rock formations, which form the substrate of one of the oldest rainforests on the planet.

However, geoparks are more than just sublime natural landscapes. They are also “living laboratories” where geological processes are observed and cultural connections to the land celebrated. By enabling local communities to explore new ways of embracing their geological, environmental and cultural heritage, geoparks strike a balance between preservation and sustainable development – while also educating on these issues. 

Take, for example, Dak Nong UNESCO Global Geopark in Vietnam, located at the end of the majestic Truong Son range. It serves as an open-air classroom for volcanism, featuring ash, cinder, volcanic bombs, and pahoehoe lava. In Czechia, the Bohemian Paradise UNESCO Global Geopark is home to a jewellery-making tradition that uses locally found gemstones. Meanwhile, the festivals and folk literature of the Araripe UNESCO Global Geopark in Brazil support local sustainable tourism.

This book features more than 170 examples like these – all the UNESCO Global Geoparks listed up to 2022. It reveals the planet’s incredible geodiversity: the minerals, rocks, fossils, soils, sediments, landforms and aquifers that can be found on Earth, as well as the processes that shape these features. It also reminds us that geodiversity is a crucial source of energy and minerals, providing key components for sustainable energies, such as wind turbines, solar panels and electric cars.

However, geological resources are far from inexhaustible. About half of the almost one hundred chemical elements occurring naturally on Earth, for example, could be in short supply within a century. In this context, geoparks have an essential role to play. By nurturing a deeper comprehension and appreciation of our planet’s geological heritage, they are one of UNESCO’s solutions faced with the environmental disruptions of the Anthropocene – along with our Biosphere Reserves and natural World Heritage sites. 

Indeed, as humanity faces the greatest challenge of the modern age – the climate and biodiversity crises – UNESCO is working to reset the relationship between people and planet, by preserving environmental heritage, by fostering better understanding of it, and by raising awareness of the urgent need to protect it. 

This book comes, therefore, at exactly the right time. It shows us that, although environmental disruption threatens the planet we call home, there is still reason to hope. In places like UNESCO’s Global Geoparks, Biosphere Reserves and natural World Heritage sites, humans are testing new ways of co-existing with nature. And, in doing so, they are steering our societies towards a more sustainable future.