1. Water in Descriptions of Global Geoparks: Not Less Important than Geology?
- Author
-
Dmitry A. Ruban
- Subjects
lcsh:Hydraulic engineering ,Geography, Planning and Development ,hydrodiversity ,Aquatic Science ,010502 geochemistry & geophysics ,01 natural sciences ,Biochemistry ,Natural (archaeology) ,Southeast asia ,lcsh:Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes ,lcsh:TC1-978 ,water management ,0502 economics and business ,Natural heritage ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Water Science and Technology ,lcsh:TD201-500 ,business.industry ,Visitor pattern ,aquatic landscape ,05 social sciences ,Environmental resource management ,Geopark ,conservation ,aesthetic attractiveness ,natural heritage ,tourism ,business ,050212 sport, leisure & tourism ,Tourism - Abstract
Water is an important landscape element of protected areas, but its significance to geoparks (parks representing geological heritage) is still unclear. The content of the official, standardized descriptions of the UNESCO global geoparks (144 in total) was analyzed in order to understand the consideration of water by geopark creators/managers. It was found that water objects (seas/oceans, rivers, and lakes are most common) are mentioned in 55% of these descriptions, and 47% of the latter bear photos of water objects. Moreover, water is generally strongly related to geological heritage (in 80% of cases). These findings imply a significant attention to hydrodiversity in geoparks (apparently, official descriptions reflect global geopark practice and intentions). This attention does not differ between Europe, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. It has increased in the 2010s relatively to the 2000s. The registered consideration of water in geoparks can be explained differently, and one plausible hypothesis links it to an increasing willingness of geopark creators/managers to demonstrate the natural integrity of geological heritage landscapes. Such attention to water is suitable to deliver the knowledge of this integrity to tourists, but it increases the risks of visitor distraction from geological heritage, shifting to easy-to-understand and beautiful water objects.
- Published
- 2019