Geoparks A powerful new development vehicle for regional

Geoparks A powerful new development vehicle for regional Australia Professor Ross Dowling OAM Edith Cowan University Western Australia Spotlight 7 – Regional Tourism and Geotourism Thursday 27 October

Founded in 1945 - 193 member states UNESCO World Heritage Man and the Biosphere UNESCO Global Geoparks 2

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UNESCO Programs Program Sites Countries World Heritage 1052 165 Man and the Biosphere 669 120 UNESCO Global Geoparks 120 33 4

Australia’s UNESCO Sites Program Sites World Heritage 22 Man and the Biosphere 14 UNESCO Global Geoparks 0 5

Geoparks • A Geopark is an area with a geological heritage of significance, with a coherent and strong management structure and where a sustainable economic development strategy is in place • They are either national or global • There are 120 global geoparks in 33 countries on five continents • Europe - 69 • Asia - 46 [China has 33] • Africa - 1 North America - 2 South America - 2 Australia - 0 6

Global Geoparks 7

European Geoparks 8

China’s Global Geoparks 33 9

Are Geoparks only about Geology? 10

Geoparks vs National Parks 1. Geopark are not the same as National Parks 2. Instead they are vehicles for fostering community-based, sustainable, regional economic development 11

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 12

Geoparks are both a development concept as well as a branding tool. They achieve these goals through: 1. 2. 3. Conservation Education Geotourism 13

Geoparks are sites of significant geological heritage with: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Geo-conservation activities Sustainable tourism activities Educational activities Community involvement Strong management structures A secure financial basis 14

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Levels of Geoparks No Level Appellation 1 Local Aspiring 2 National 3 Regional eg. European 4 Global 20

The Geoparks Brand • In China in the first decade there were over 1. 1 billion visitors to geoparks (over 100 million visitors per annum) • Entry fees were RMB 7 Billion ($1. 5 B) • The geoparks generated 75 000 permanent full time jobs and 470 000 part time jobs • In the United Kingdom the contribution of seven geoparks is £ 18. 84 m ($37 m) 21

Yuntaishan Geopark, China Economic Benefits • The total income brought about by tourism is RMB 2291 million (AUD$470 million) • This accounts for 32% of the local GDP • The number of jobs generated by the geopark is 25 300 • The geopark has lifted the county out of poverty to become relatively well off 22

Conclusions 1. Geoparks are the new National Landscapes 2. They have a well established global network 3. Chinese and European visitors know geoparks 4. Geoparks foster community-based, sustainable, regional, economic development 5. Australia needs geoparks – they are the only continent without them 23

Geoparks A powerful new development vehicle for regional Australia THE END Professor Ross Dowling OAM Edith Cowan University r. dowling@ecu. edu. au 24