Event Title
How Well is Cave and Karst Geoheritage Protected by UNESCO Protected Area Designation?
Session Type
Plenary Session: Sustainbility and Community
Start Date
18-8-2020 10:00 AM
Description
There are four UNESCO protected area designations: World Heritage Sites (WHS), Global Geoparks (GG), Ramsar Sites (RS) and Biosphere Reserves (BR). Data-bases have been compiled listing sites in each category that contain, or are thought to contain, features of cave and / or karst interest (the "and / or" is because some caves in protected areas are not associated with sur-face karst landforms because they were not formed by dissolution, for example lava caves). The databases, which are still being cross-checked include 96 WHS, 60 GG, 124 RS and 180 BR. The total number of individual protected sites will be less than the sum of the parts as some sites have multiple designations. In some of the WHS and most GG the cave and/or karst geoheritage interest is explicitly recognized and protected but in those WHS designated for other interests such as cul-tural sites and in RS and BR the geoheritage may go unrecognised and unprotected. The data bases are seen as a first step in assessing interest features and will be followed up by an information campaign aimed at im-proving awareness and management.
Recommended Citation
Gunn,, John Presenter, "How Well is Cave and Karst Geoheritage Protected by UNESCO Protected Area Designation?" (2020). Conservation of Fragile Karst Resources Proceedings. 14.
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/con_karst_res_proc/con_karst_pro_2020/day_one/14
How Well is Cave and Karst Geoheritage Protected by UNESCO Protected Area Designation?
There are four UNESCO protected area designations: World Heritage Sites (WHS), Global Geoparks (GG), Ramsar Sites (RS) and Biosphere Reserves (BR). Data-bases have been compiled listing sites in each category that contain, or are thought to contain, features of cave and / or karst interest (the "and / or" is because some caves in protected areas are not associated with sur-face karst landforms because they were not formed by dissolution, for example lava caves). The databases, which are still being cross-checked include 96 WHS, 60 GG, 124 RS and 180 BR. The total number of individual protected sites will be less than the sum of the parts as some sites have multiple designations. In some of the WHS and most GG the cave and/or karst geoheritage interest is explicitly recognized and protected but in those WHS designated for other interests such as cul-tural sites and in RS and BR the geoheritage may go unrecognised and unprotected. The data bases are seen as a first step in assessing interest features and will be followed up by an information campaign aimed at im-proving awareness and management.
Comments
This presentation was part of the Plenary Session: Sustainability and Community. Sustainability and Community Mangers and researchers from across the globe shared perspectives on the strengths and challenges to man-aging karst resources and the UNESCO programs de-signed to protect these environments. Topics covered a broad spectrum including collaborative management, efficacy of UNESCO protected area designations in safeguarding cave and karst geogheritage, geotourism roles and potentials, public perception, use of tradi-tional knowledge to guide karst management, and ge-oeducational and geotouristic opportunities offered by speleological activities.