UNESCO Global Geoparks

Recently, UNESCO has gradually started to recognize world geoparks ? territorial spaces with a geological heritage of international importance.

This classification presents real challenges. Development strategies must align with the recommendations advocated by various non-governmental organizations. It is also necessary to involve the local actors, both in the preparation of application forms and in the implementation of a management plan that is suitable for sustainable global development. Managing the tensions and asymmetries that exist between the different groups of actors (politicians, managers, scientists, representatives of local populations) constitutes another major issue.

It is in this context and through various case studies that this book questions the aims of the UNESCO global geoparks ? in terms of heritage inventory and conservation, the participation of local populations, the local development of a territory and its enhancement through heritage interpretation.

Auteur
Yves Girault is Professor at the French National Museum of Natural History, and co-editor of the International Journal of Geoheritage and Parks. From 2015 to 2018, he led the European research program H2020 RISE on Geoparks. His most recent work is on the geopolitics of museums.

Contenu

Introduction xi
Yves GIRAULT

Part 1. Objectives, Issues and Tensions Related to the Patrimonialization of Nature 1

Chapter 1. Natural Heritage, Participatory Democracy and UNESCO: a Structure of Disillusionment? **3
**Igor BABOU

1.1. Introduction 3

1.2. The participation in question 4

1.3. A brief history of participatory mechanisms and environmental democracy 4

1.4. Critical assessments of participatory mechanisms and environmental democracy 7

1.5. Points of tension within protected natural areas 11

1.5.1. The significant dimension of the devices 13

1.5.2. The proliferation and professionalization of intermediaries 14

1.5.3. Standardization of participation models 15

1.6. The example of the Lanzarote geopark: top-down approach and brand logic 15

1.7. Conclusion: the democratic consequences of the contradictions of participation 17

1.8. References 19

Chapter 2. The Ambivalences of the Co-construction of a Mental Territory: a Case Study on Spanish UGGs **23
**Catalina GONZALEZ TEJADA and Yves GIRAULT

2.1. Introduction 23

2.2. Problematic issues 24

2.3. Methodology and construction of the corpus 27

2.4. The construction of the story of the mental territory of the Spanish geoparks 28

2.4.1. First initiatives to protect geological aspects in Spain 29

2.4.2. Various definitions of geological heritage in Spain 31

2.4.3. Cultural enhancement of geological heritage: a disciplinary approach between protection and dissemination of geology 35

2.5. Conclusion 47

2.6. References 48

Chapter 3. The History of the Earth as a New Form of Territorial Marketing: the Case of the Geopark of the Tremp-Montsec Basin (Spain) **53
**Fabien VAN GEERT

3.1. Introduction 53

3.2. Economic development and the use of heritage in the Catalan Pyrenees 55

3.3. The protection of Catalan geological heritage and its valorization through geoparks 57

3.4. The Tremp-Montsec Basin Geopark Project and the creation of a territory brand 63

3.5. The declaration of the Tremp Geopark and the definition of its future challenges 71

3.6. References 74

Chapter 4. Patrimonialization and the Geopark Label: for Which Development Model in the South? The Case of Morocco **77
**Ouidad TEBAA and Saïd BOUJROUF

4.1. Introduction 77

4.2. Geopark in Morocco: new label, new territory and new heritage process 78

4.2.1. The relationship to heritage and patrimonialization in Morocco: between identity, museumization and commodification 78

4.2.2. What is the debate on the social acceptability and local utility of geoparks? 79

4.3. Challenges in the territorial construction of geoparks and their heritage development 82

4.3.1. Challenges in the fight against poverty and/or heritage preservation 83

4.3.2. Challenges of intersectoral articulation and integration 84

4.3.3. Governance challenges for geoparks projects: involving residents 86

4.4. Questions and reservations about the contribution of a UNESCO model of geoparks for development in the South 88

4.5. References 90

Chapter 5. The Evolution of the Economics of Culture and its Influence on the Development of Geoparks **91
**François MAIRESSE

5.1. Introduction 91

5.2. Museums and heritage sites in the market economy 92

5.3. The economic discourse on heritage 95

5.4. Economic evaluation 97

5.5. From the cultural economy to the creative economy 99

5.6. The economic challenges of geopark development 102

5.7. References 104

Part 2. Heritage Inventory and Conservation 109 Chapter 6. Methodological Proposal for the Valorization of the Geodiversity of Rural Areas Comparable with the Zat Valley **111
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