Latin America and Caribbean Geoparks Network

 

ABOUT THE GEOLAC?

The UNESCO World Geoparks Network for Latin America and the Caribbean - hereinafter GeoLAC Network - was founded in May 2017 by four UNESCO World Geoparks: Araripe - State of Ceará, Brazil, Grutas del Palacio - Department of Flores, Uruguay, Comarca Minera - State of Hidalgo, Mexico, Mixteca Alta - State of Oaxaca, Mexico

In the declarations derived from the "I Latin American and Caribbean Conference of Geoparks", held in the UNESCO World Geopark (GMU) Araripe, in 2010, and the "First Symposium of Geoparks", held in Arequipa, Peru, in 2017 , as well as the "Geoheritage and Geoparks Workshop in Latin America", held in Mexico City, in 2015, and the "IV Latin American and Caribbean Symposium on Geoparks", Peru, 2017, the GMUs and geopark projects in the region expressed their interest in forming the Global Geoparks Network of Latin America and the Caribbean, framed in the Global Geoparks Network (GGN) in accordance with its statutes, which refer to the convenience of forming regional networks. The GGN was founded in 2004 as an international association developed under the auspices of UNESCO, whose purpose is to develop models of best practices and establish quality standards in territories that integrate the preservation of the Earth's heritage with a regional strategy of sustainable economic development.

During the 38th General Conference of UNESCO, held in November 2015, the 195 member states ratified the creation of the GMUs. This formalized the government's recognition of the need to manage outstanding geological sites and landscapes under a holistic approach. In this way, a new status was granted to the previous network of sites of geological importance, globally sharing the challenge of sensitizing society about Earth Sciences. The creation of regional networks and collaboration between the GMUs is also an important purpose for the GGN, being explicit in the Statutes of the International Program of Geosciences and Geoparks.  UNESCO promotes cooperation among the members of the Network, especially in the areas of education, management, institutional strengthening, tourism and regional sustainable development; it also encourages an equitable geographical development of GMUs. This network construction with a regional sense is currently expressed in the Network of Geoparks of Asia and the Pacific (APGN), the European Network of Geoparks (EGN) and the Network of Geoparks of Latin America and the Caribbean -or Red GeoLAC-. All of them act as regional networks of the GGN and are governed by their statutes, without prejudice to the regional statutes.