UNESCO Global Geoparks and their underlying geographies in the contemporary world

• Grant number: 21/04395-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2023
• Effective date (End): December 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Geography - Human Geography
• Principal Investigator: Rita de Cássia Ariza da Cruz
• Grantee: Isabella Maria Beil
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Until December 2022, UNESCO recognized 169 Global Geoparks, of which more than 50% are in Europe, 40% in Asia, 6% in Latin America, and the remaining 4% are distributed between Africa and Anglo-Saxon America. This picture shows the existence of a much uneven geography regarding the distribution of these areas across the planet. In addition, in the one hand, 1/4 are located only in China, while, on the other hand, there is no Global Geopark recognized in the United States. In view of this situation, it is argued as a hypothesis here that behind the Geoparks' topology there is an imbricated relationship between the political, economic, and geopolitical strategies of the nation-states that shelter them, in addition to the simple protection and enhancement of the geological heritage that originates them. Based on this premise, this research's main goal is to critically analyze the meaning of UNESCO Global Geoparks in the contemporary world, considering their topology without, however, being restricted to it. In this sense, this research will seek to apprehend the role of UNESCO and main constituent elements of Geoparks (tourism, heritage, and sustainable development) in the production of the evident imbalance that characterizes its geographical distribution across the planet.