Geoparks: A global approach to promote sustainable tourism for local communities
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Transcript of Geoparks: A global approach to promote sustainable tourism for local communities
Geoparks: A global approach to promote
sustainable tourism for local communities
Global Eco Asia Pacific Conference 2015
Rottnest Island, WA
17-19 November, 2015
Expanding Ecotourism Horizons
Dr Young Ng
Association for Geoconservation, Hong Kong
Copyright reserved Young Ng 2015
Outline
1. Geopark: concept & principles
2. Social benefits
3. Economic benefits
4. Cases in China
5. Conclusions
4 spheres of Planet Earth & environment
Atmosphere
Hydrosphere(sea, rivers, underground water)
Biosphere (plants, animals)
Lithosphere (land, rocks, soils)
• Least known
• Least protected
• Stories untold
UN’s protection
programmes and
initiatives
• Man & Biosphere (651 sites in 120 countries)
• World Heritage Listing (1031 sites in 163 countries)
• Global GeoparksNetwork (120 sites in 33 countries)
(Sources: UNESCO’s MB, WH, GGN 2015)
• Geopark: ‘an area with particular geological heritage
with international significance but also with a
sustainable development plan or strategy involving
local communities’. (McKeever 2015)
• A holistic approach to manage and protect geological heritage
with the consideration of their interaction with the biological
and cultural environment, particularly the livelihood of the
people living within or near them.
All these factors generate
geotourism and ecotourism opportunities
Education
Conservation
Sustainable
development
Community
engagementNetworking
Ecotourism and geotourism
Ecotourism:‘Ecologically sustainable tourism with a primary focus on experiencing natural areas that fosters environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation and conservation’. (EA 2015)
Geotourism: ‘Geotourism is defined as tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place—its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents’ (National Geographic 1997)
‘Tourism which focuses on geology and landscape as the basis for providing visitor engagement, learning, and enjoyment’. (GSA 2015)
Nature-based &
cultural tourism
Geology & landscape
Culture/ history
Ecology
Other environmental
components
(Ecotourism)
(Cultural tourism)
(Geotourism)
Principles of geotourism
• Geology as a basis
• Experiences enjoyment, learning Sustainable manners of enjoying, learning and engaging experiences
• Raises awareness, interest, appreciation, understanding of geoheritage and geoconservation
• Communicates geosciences with understanding geology through effective interpretation and story-telling skills
• Fosters sustainable tourism and local development
• Takes place in anywhere, any season and at anytime
• Geopark and mining parks are ideal venues for geotourism activities
Geotourism & Geopark
• Geopark branding = quality assurance
• Regular national and international quality monitoring of the site and its services
• Geopark: ideal platform for geotourism� Tranquil environment
� Outstanding and attractive scenery
� Internationally significant geological and geomorphological features with good interpretation
� World class management and services
� Superb facilities and reasonable accessibility
� Excellent safety and security measures
• Revives deprived areas, towns and villages
• Engages local communities
• Preserves local culture
• Establishes strong local, national, regional and international networks
• Creates strong sense of place and identity
• Develops sense of pride and belonging
Economic benefits to local communities
• Geoparks driven by geotourism
• Encourages investments
• Generates businesses
• Creates jobs
• Improves livelihood
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
2004 2005 2006 2007
Huangshan
Lushan
Stone Forest
Wudalianchi
Danxiashan
Yandangshan
Ningde
Hexigten
S
L
H
Y
W
D
N
H
Number of tourists before (2004) and after (2007) the
establishment of geoparks(in million)
(Source: CGN 2014)
Case 1Performance of 8
geoparks in their
first 4 years
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
2004 2005 2006 2007
Huangshan
Lushan
Stone Forest
Wudalianchi
Danxiashan
Yandangshan
Ningde
Hexigten
L
H
Y
W
D
SH
N
Total geotourism
related revenue Before (2004) and after (2007)
the establishment of geoparks(in million CNY, USD1 = CNY 6.3)
(Source: CGN 2014)
Jiaozuo (JJ) phenomenon
• Jiaozuo City, Henan Province – poor,
environmentally devastated coal mining
city, heavily polluted , low employment
city in 1999
• In 1999, GDP dropped by 16%, tax
revenue fell by 24%
• Yuntaishan Geopark was established and
used to transform Jiaozuo City in 2001
• ‘Jiaozuo Phenomenon’ – A model of
geopark-induced drastic change as
geotourism related income increased by
nearly 50 times from 0.6 billion in 2001
to 25 billion in 2012
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013
No. of tourists
Million
Comparing
2000/2014
+ 29.6 million
+ > 8 times
JJ Phenomenon - Number of tourists to Jiaozuo City
2014: 33.0m
2000: 3.4m
Source: Jiaozuo 2014
Yuntaishan
Global Geopark
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
JJ Phenomenon -
Total geotourism related revenue, Jiaozuo City(in billion CNY, USD1=CNY 6.3)
Total tourism revenue
(in billion CNY)
Billion CNY
Comparing
2000/2014
+ 24 billion
+ > 40 times
2000: 0.6 b
2014: 25 b
Source: Jiaozuo 2014
Ancient
volcano
(caldera)
Changyu Town
Shanghai
Changyu Quarry and Cave
Case 3 Changyu Cave,
Yandanshan Global
Geopark
Changyu Cave
• Six geosites (Eight Fairy Cave, Sky & Heaven Cave,
Water & Cloud Cave, Double Gate Cave, Double Gate
Sculpture, Sunset Cave) and one Panda House
Transforming & restoration projects
• Total quarry area 16.18 sq. km
• Shapes of pits – Open or closed/underground bench-like, perpendicular, bell-like
• 28 tunnel systems, 1,314 grottos
• Hammered and chiseled manually for over 1,500 years
• Largest man-made cave in the world (Guinness Record 1998)
• Artefacts: bridges, roads, floodgates, wharfs, slabs, houses, window frames, arches, tombs, posts, household utensils, tools
• Taoist, Buddhist temples, concert hall
• 1st stone culture museum in China – 5 exhibition areas
Environmental improvement
• Upgrading the overall environment
• Solving environmental problems – tailings, dust, flooding, safety, water
quality, toxic soils, abandoned machines and equipment, improve
aesthetic value
Before After
No. of visitors
0
200000
400000
600000
800000
1000000
1200000
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
No. of visitors
No. of visitors
+43%
Source:
YDS Management
Authority 2014
0.69m
0.99m
Ticket revenue
0
5
10
15
20
25
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
CNY in million
Ticket sale (CNY)
+184%
20.53m
(USD3.34m )
Source:
YDS Management Authority 2014
7.24m
(USD1.18m)
Non-ticket revenue
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
CNY in million
CNY in million
+32 times
Source:
YDS Management Authority
20140.28 m
9.12m
(USD1.45m)
(USD0.05m)
• Nature-based tourism is about telling stories of our Nature
• Telling stories of our Earth has long been missing or insufficient in nature-based tourism and this can be done through geotourism and geoparks
• Geotourism can grow better and faster with geopark
• UNESCO Global Geopark is a global movement and is moving very fast in the past decade
• Geopark is more than just rocks, it comes together with a sustainable management and development strategy of our geological heritage benefiting local communities
• Many successful cases in China may provide insights for some similar sites in Australia and other areas in the Asia Pacific region