A Key Project of the Ku-ring-gai GeoRegion is to nominate as an Aspiring  UNESCO GLOBAL GEOPARK.  There are a number of hurdles to meet within both NSW and Federal Government as well as the assessment by the UNESCO Global Geopark Committee. This is explained below.

UNESCO GLOBAL GEOPARK DEVELOPMENT

The ‘highest order’ of sustainable geotourism can be accommodated through the establishment of geoparks, in the same way that World Heritage Areas and national parks might be seen as the highest order of protection and enjoyment for biodiversity, culture, and geodiversity. Therefore, whilst the establishment of geoparks highlight one form of geotourism, they most definitely provide opportunities to celebrate and explore the Earth’s natural features whilst also incorporating culture, protections where appropriate, and sustainability in a way that is true to the core values of all nature-based tourism in Australia.

Unlike World Heritage Areas and national parks, geoparks can embrace both protected and any resource extraction areas, focusing on sustainable development objectives. Geoparks also focus on community engagement and ownership. In Australia, national parks focus only on biodiversity and often with insufficient attention given to geological heritage.

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. Whilst World Heritage Areas and national parks are created in perpetuity, the status of global geoparks is reviewed by UNESCO every four years. A most helpful infographic about the UNESCO Global Geopark program can be sighted here.

Whilst a geopark must demonstrate geological heritage of particular significance, the purpose of a geopark is to explore, develop and celebrate the links between that geological heritage and all other aspects of the area’s natural, cultural, and intangible heritages. It is about reconnecting human society at all levels to the planet we all call home, and to celebrate how our planet and its 4,600-million-year long history has shaped every aspect of our lives and our societies. Geoparks are both a regional development concept as well as a branding tool. They achieve these goals through conservation, education and geotourism. Geoparks can comprise both protected and non-protected areas and enable and celebrate sustainable development of primary industries such as mining, agriculture, and forestry.

Geoparks can choose to evolve through a series of levels from ‘aspiring,’ ‘national,’ ‘regional’ (e.g., European or Asia-Pacific Regions) to ‘global.’

On 21^st February 2019, the fourth open session of the International Geosciences and Geoparks Programme took place in Paris and determined that the new aspiring geopark applications for the UNESCO Global UNESCO member countries are entitled to nominate a maximum of two applications per year.

GeoRegions

UNESCO appreciates that each Nation State can develop its own procedures for assessing geopark proposals. In the case of Australia, the concept of establishing a GeoRegion as a strategy is only a first step for geopark proponents (e.g., regional development authorities, local government agencies, community groups, natural or cultural heritage interest groups, and, as appropriate, primary industry interest groups) to use, and is of local Australian domestic relevance only, and would fall away if a GeoRegion project supported by the relevant State/Territory Government evolves into a geopark nomination. Australian government geoscience agencies now accept the concept of GeoRegions (as has been established for the approved Ku-ring-gai GeoRegion) is an essential exploratory step for proposed geopark development with approved guidelines for their establishment as detailed here.

In Australia, GeoRegions can be single, unified geographical areas of appropriate size where sites and landscapes of geological significance are linked together around a central natural or cultural value. Their intended ‘bottom-up’ approach of combining conservation with sustainable development aims to involve local communities.

Ku-ring-gai GeoRegion

For the Ku-ring-gai GeoRegion (KGR), the central natural or cultural values has been encapsulated by the registration on the National Heritage List in 2006 of the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park with the following assessment:

‘Assessor's Summary of Significance: Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and Long Island, Lion Island, and Spectacle Island Nature Reserves contain an exceptional representation of the Sydney region biota, a region which is recognised as a nationally outstanding centre of biodiversity.  The place contains a complex pattern of 24 plant communities, including heathland, woodland, open forest, swamps, and warm temperate rainforest, with a high native plant species richness of over 1000 species and an outstanding diversity of bird and other animal species.  This diversity includes an outstanding representation of the species that are unique to the Sydney region, particularly those restricted to the Hawkesbury Sandstone landform. The place is an outstanding example of a centre of biodiversity.’

• The area provides a vast array of Aboriginal heritage sites including rock engravings, cave art sites, grinding grooves, shell middens, occupational deposits, stone arrangements, and burials. The location, combination and distribution of these features provide an outstanding insight into the life of the First Peoples and their use of this land over at least the last 6,000 years, and perhaps extending back as far as 15,000-20,000 years. 
• It is one of Australia’s most dense areas for Aboriginal sites. Over 1400 sites recorded, some with multiple site traits.
• The area provides a human history dictated by the nature of the landscape, extending inland from the Pacific Ocean.

The natural and cultural heritage of the GeoRegion has also been described in detail in the recently published Linnean Society of NSW journal Review Paper.

The GeoRegion mechanism provides a framework to undertake comprehensive consultation with the full range of interested or impacted community groups (including Aboriginal communities) and to resolve any identified land-tenure conflict issues that may arise.

For the KGR, work is currently focused on required geotrail establishment evidenced through the development of geotrail concepts and geosites and with continued consultation with stakeholders identified in the GeoRegion guidelines.

Other activities include assessment of an approved governance structure to manage these activities, including as appropriate the application for any available government grant funding. This body will need to have legal existence recognised under national or state government legislation and have a comprehensive management plan, covering governance, development, communication, protection, infrastructure, finance, and partnership issues. In addition, consultation with community groups including the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, environmental and heritage interest groups will continue.

Future Developmental Steps Required to Nominate a UNESCO Global Geopark

Any proposal to develop further a nomination for  UNESCO Global Geopark will need to be reviewed  in a manner prescribed by the NSW State Government to determine whether it is suitable to be processed further (either for UNESCO consideration as a Global Geopark, or as a National/State Geopark, or as a major suite of connected geotrails), or to remain as a GeoRegion to enable further reassessment at some future time.

Following the outcome of this review, formal application to the designated NSW State Government agency to assess the nomination proposal for approval, having regard to the areal extent of the nominated area and the formal name of the nomination, also having regard to community sensitivities. An ultimate decision will need to be made through a submission to the NSW Department of Premier/Cabinet.

An approved nomination will then need to be considered by the nominated Australian Government agency, and if approved, submitted to the Office of the Australian National Commission to UNESCO.

The UNESCO assessment process  of an Aspiring Global  Geopark can take up to 1-2 years to be completed with details outlined here noting that there is a requirement for an UNESCO Aspiring Global Geopark to have traded as a single entity for a year prior to assessment by the  UNESCO Global Geopark Network (GGn) evaluation team.

Currently there are no UNESCO Global Geoparks located in Australia nor is there any Aspiring Global Geoparks in Australia under consideration by UNESCO.

INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT

It is a requirement of UNESCO that Aspiring UNESCO Global Geoparks join the GGn https://globalgeoparksnetwork.org/  and in the case of Australia, the Asia Pacific Geopark Network https://asiapacificgeoparks.org/

Through the auspices of Geotourism Australia www.geotourism.org.au  and one of the strategic goals of the National Geotourism Strategy, the Steering Committee of the Ku-ring-gai GeoRegion is able to participate in collaborative activities created by the Australian Geoscience Council Inc (AGC). This engagement was evidenced by the recent GEOFEST 2024 Sydney workshop www.geofest.com.au forming part of the 5th Geotourism Festival and International Conference (GFIC) 2024, initiated by the Indonesian Geoparks Network (IGN)- a geopark network in Indonesia comprising 10 UNESCO Global Geoparks and more than 10 national geoparks.  The KGR featured as one of the three tours associated with this Sydney Workshop.

Both the AGC and one of its constituent members, the Geological Society of Australia have in place Memorandums of Cooperation with both the IGN and the Geological Society of China respectively.

Current geoscience members of the Ku-ring-gai GeoRegion Steering Committee maintain international links with groups such as the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas.