These are the 8 new Global Geoparks named by UNESCO

UNESCO has approved the designation of eight new global geoparks, bringing the number of sites in the Global Geoparks Network to 177, spread across 46 countries, the Paris-based UN organization announced on Wednesday.

According to UNESCO, a geopark is an area with outstanding geological heritage and a strategy to promote that heritage for the benefit of the local community.

Local communities drive and create geoparks to celebrate the Earth's heritage and achieve sustainable development of their region through 'geotourism,' UNESCO says.

“It is much more than a label. It is a recognition of geological sites of international value,” Kristof Vandenberghe, the chief of UNESCO's Earth Sciences and Geoparks Section, said at a press event. 

"You cannot express everything in a monetary value. Sometimes people are discovering again and recognizing again how connected they actually are to their landscape."

Two countries, Luxembourg and Sweden, have joined the Global Network for the first time with the designation of their first geoparks.

There are five existing geoparks in Canada: Stonehammer in New Brunswick, Tumbler Ridge in B.C., Perce in Quebec, Discovery in Newfoundland, and Cliffs of Fundy in Nova Scotia. No new Canadian sites were added to the list this year.

The eight new UNESCO Global Geoparks are:

Seridó bears testimony to the last 600 million years of the Earth's history and shelters one of South America's largest scheelite mineralizations, UNESCO says. (Credit: Getson Luís/Seridó UNESCO Global Geopark)

Seridó UNESCO Global Geopark, Brazil

According to UNESCO, the Seridó UNESCO Global Geopark is home to more than 120,000 inhabitants, including communities like the Quilombolas "who keep alive the memory of their enslaved ancestors from Africa."

The geopark bears testimony to the last 600 million years of the Earth's history and shelters one of South America's largest scheelite mineralizations, UNESCO says.

Southern Canyons Pathways has some of South America's most noteworthy canyons.(Credit: GABRIEL ZAPAROLLI: ©Gabriel Zaparolli via UNESCO)

Southern Canyons Pathways UNESCO Global Geopark, Brazil

Caminhos dos Cânions do Sul in southern Brazil is characterized by the Atlantic Forests, which are one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the globe, UNESCO says.

The location also has some of South America's most noteworthy canyons.

Water covers around 21 per cent of this geopark, while trees occupy more than half of it. (Credit: Johannes Sipponen/Salpausselkä Geopark)

Salpausselkä UNESCO Global Geopark, Finland

The Salpausselkä UNESCO Global Geopark is located in southern Finland. According to UNESCO, water covers around 21 per cent of the geopark, while trees occupy more than half of it.

The geopark's hundreds of lakes, as well as the long, unique Salpauros ridges, are prominent features of the terrain.

A meteorite crashed into Earth at this location around 15 million years ago, UNESCO says. (Credit: Dietmar Denger / Geopark Ries e. V. via UNESCO)

Ries UNESCO Global Geopark, Germany

The Ries UNESCO Global Geopark is mostly in Bavaria, with a tiny portion in Baden-Würtemberg. A meteorite crashed into Earth at this location around 15 million years ago, UNESCO says.

According to NASA Earth Observatory, the Nördlinger Ries impact crater is the best-preserved meteorite crater in Europe.

This geopark is rich in sites like caves, sinkholes, and subterranean streams, which highlight a geological history dating back over 250 million years. (Credit: Kefalonia-Ithaca via UNESCO)

Kefalonia-Ithaca UNESCO Global Geopark, Greece

Kefalonia – Ithaca is a Heptanese island group in Western Greece.

The geopark is rich in sites like caves, sinkholes, and subterranean streams, which highlight a geological history dating back over 250 million years.

Luxembourg's Mllerdall UNESCO Global Geopark has been a tourist destination since the late 1800s. (Credit: NGPM, Uli Fielitz via UNESCO)

Mëllerdall UNESCO Global Geopark, Luxembourg

Luxembourg's Mllerdall UNESCO Global Geopark is one of Western Europe's "most spectacular sandstone landscapes" and has been a tourist destination since the late 1800s, UNESCO says.

It contains the Luxembourg Sandstone Formation, which may be up to 100 metres thick and comes from the Lower Liassic period (205 to 180 million years ago).

The Buzău Land UNESCO Global Geopark is home to 45,000 people in Romania's Carpathian Bend Area. (Credit: Buzău Land NGO / Răzvan-Gabriel Popa via UNESCO)

Buzău Land UNESCO Global Geopark, Romania

The Buzău Land UNESCO Global Geopark is home to 45,000 people in Romania's Carpathian Bend Area.

According to UNESCO, the geopark has 40 million years of geological history and is one of Europe's most geodynamically active places.

The Platbergens in West Sweden is known for its scenery of 15 flat-topped table mountains, which were sculpted by erosion 115,000 years ago during the last ice age. (Credit: Henrik Theodorsson via UNESCO)

Platåbergens UNESCO Global Geopark, Sweden

The Platbergens in West Sweden is known for its scenery of 15 flat-topped table mountains, which were sculpted by erosion 115,000 years ago during the last ice age, UNESCO says.

The Västgöta Plain, with shallow lakes, hills and well-preserved cultural landscapes, is also included in the region. According to UNESCO, it is also home to the first known stone church in Sweden, built by Christian Vikings in the early 11th century.

UNESCO noted in a release, that owing to COVID-19, they couldn’t evaluate new applications from Asia, Africa or the Arab region, but several projects for geoparks are underway in these parts of the world.

While the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation is more familiar and includes landmarks with legal protection by international conventions, the Global Geopark title is relatively newer and was established in 2015.