This Issue of the Newsletter of the IUCN-WCPA Geoheritage Specialist Group (GSG) Reports on Activities During 2015 and 2016 and Looks Forward to Future Developments
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Huanjiang Karst, Guangxi Province, China. The geodiversity of the fengcong (cone) karst supports a pristine, subtropical, humid-climate, mixed-forest ecosystem with vertical differentiation of forest types between the depressions and valleys and the tops of the hills. Numerous endemic plant and animal species are present. The karst landscape also has high cultural values. The 1st International Conference on Geoheritage, held in the city of Huanjiang in June 2015, celebrated the inscription of Huanjiang Karst as part of the South China Karst World Heritage Site in 2014 (Photo: John Gordon). This issue of the Newsletter of the IUCN-WCPA Geoheritage Specialist Group (GSG) reports on activities during 2015 and 2016 and looks forward to future developments. Among the highlights, the GSG helped to organize the 1st International Conference on Geoheritage held in Huanjiang County, Guangxi Province, China, in June 2015, while in September 2016, various Steering Committee members represented the GSG at the IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) in Hawaiʻi (USA), the 35th IUGS International Geological Congress (IGC) in Cape Town (South Africa) and the 7th International Conference on UNESCO Global Geoparks in Torquay (UK). The final declaration from the WCC, the 'Hawaiʻi Commitments', recognises geodiversity and the value of nature as a whole, while the IUCN Programme 2017-2020 offers opportunities to link geodiversity to the wider nature conservation agenda. In addition, a resolution on moveable geological heritage was approved at the WCC. The Newsletter also reports on activities among partner organisations, including the Global Geoparks Network, and the establishment of a new IUGS Commission on Geoheritage. Following publication of a chapter on geoconservation in IUCN’s Protected Area Governance and Management book (2015), the GSG is now preparing an IUCN Best Practice Guideline on Geoheritage Conservation in Protected Areas. The thematic study on World Heritage Volcanoes is also being revised. Palaeontological resources are an important component of geoheritage, and we have a report on recent progress in promoting fossil conservation in the US National Parks. Contributions to future issues of the Newsletter are welcome, including short articles, news items and best-practice case studies on geoconservation in protected areas. John Gordon and Wesley Hill Message from the Chair Kyung Sik Woo, Chair, IUCN-WCPA Geoheritage Specialist Group The most significant development for the GSG is that the IUCN-WCPA Caves and Karst Specialist Group (CKSG) was merged with the GSG in 2016. The decision was made by the WCPA Executive Committee. This group wants to remain as a subgroup in GSG and will be led by Jay Anderson. Let me briefly summarise the main activities that I was involved with this year. I was invited to attend the WCPA Steering Committee meeting which was held in the Czech Republic in May 2016. Even though I am not a current Vice Chair of WCPA, I decided to participate in the meeting to better understand WCPA structure and their present and future activities. During this meeting, the future plans of WCPA were presented and discussed, following the 'Promise of Sidney' from the World Parks Congress. All the working groups (including the GSG) and regional Vice Chairs had the chance to outline their past activities and future plans. Active discussions followed between the different groups in WCPA. I had a chance to talk to all the groups (commissions, specialist groups and task forces) about why geoheritage can play an important role in the conservation of all of nature. Also, I suggested the developing idea of 'Key Geoheritage Sites' that we discussed a little bit last year and received good attention by the WCPA. The basic idea of this project is explained later in this newsletter. Graeme Worboys and Tim Badman also attended the meeting. I decided to attend the World Conservation Congress (WCC) in Hawaiʻi and gave up to go to the IGC due to the overlapping schedule because of the importance for GSG representation at the WCC. Collaborating with ProGEO, I was involved in giving the English lecture on recognition of natural caves and their effective management. The educational workshop, 'Learning 5 Geo's' was an excellent program enjoyed by all the participants even though not too many people attended. ProGEO tried make some input to the IUCN resolution to get better status for Geoheritage, but the results were not that satisfactory. However, we learned valuable lessons from this meeting that GSG should prepare a good strategy in advance to get better status in IUCN in the future. Also, one item of good news is that I met Dr. José Brilha, president of ProGEO, at the meeting and we made an agreement that ProGEO and IUCN WCPA will collaborate on geodiversity recognition and geoheritage conservation in protected areas. In September, I was invited to attend the 2nd Huangshan Dialogue in China which dealt with the management and monitoring of UNESCO-related programs (World Heritage, Man and Biosphere and Global Geoparks) with climate changes. As reported below by Roger Crofts, we finally got approval from the WCPA Executive Committee to proceed with the production and publication of the Best Practice Guideline on Geoheritage Conservation in Protected Areas. One item of good news is that I succeeded in getting sponsorship from the Korean Government (the Cultural Heritage Administration) to IUCN. Tim Badman is now the contact point in IUCN for this activity which will support the publication expenses for the Best Practice Guideline and hopefully the World Heritage 2 Thematic Study on volcanism and volcanic landforms by Tom Casadevall, and also for the revision study on World Heritage Criterion (viii) which will be led by myself. At the Huangshan Dialogue meeting in China, I met Elise Belle from the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) and suggested the possibility of enlisting the geoheritage sites of international (or even national) significance in the WCMC database. Of course, we need to find a sponsor to support this plan in the future. As announced below, we are looking for a host to organise and sponsor 'The 2nd International Conference on Geoheritage'. I am sorry to tell you that Suncheon in Korea showed their intention but withdrew last year. I have also been talking with some colleagues in Hong Kong and in other parts of China as well. Our dear friend, Graeme Worboys, has been recovering from an operation to remove a cancerous growth in his liver. I would like to ask all of you to wish his good recovery in the near future. If you want to cheer him up, feel free to get in touch with him via his wife (Bev) to her email address ([email protected]). The 1st International Conference on Geoheritage, Huanjiang, China, 2015 Wesley Hill, GSG Secretary General The 1st International Conference on Geoheritage was organized by the GSG in collaboration with the State Engineering Technology Institute for Karst Desertification Control (SETIKDC), the World Natural Heritage Management Bureau of Huanjiang Maonan Autonomous County, and the Geographical Society of Guizhou Province. The Conference, held in Huanjiang County, Guangxi Province, China, in June 2015, focused on geoheritage protection, management and sustainable development in protected areas such as World Heritage Sites, Geoparks and other protected areas. 150 participants representing 11 countries worked to exchange knowledge concerning geoheritage protection activities in the world, to strengthen geoheritage-related activities within IUCN-WCPA, and to discuss and celebrate the geology and geomorphology of the South China Karst World Heritage Site. Call for Hosting the 2nd International Conference on Geoheritage The GSG Steering Committee is currently seeking nominations for host countries and partner organizations for the 2nd International Conference on Geoheritage. If you are interested in hosting and helping to organize the 2nd International Conference, please contact the GSG Secretary General, Wesley Hill ([email protected]). 3 IUCN World Conservation Congress 2016: One More Step Towards the International Recognition of Geoheritage José Brilha, President, ProGEO The World Conservation Congress (WCC), under the theme 'Planet at the crossroads', was held between 1-10 September, 2016, in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. The main geo-related activities were promoted by the three IUCN members with interests focused on geodiversity and geoheritage: ProGEO, the Geological Society of Spain and the Spanish Society for the Defense of Geological Heritage and Mining Heritage. Following the approval of Resolutions WCC 2008 RES 040 and WCC 2012 Res 048, the IUCN Assembly approved a third Resolution addressing geoheritage: WCC-2016-Res-083 - 'Conservation of moveable geological heritage' (https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/46500). This new resolution urges the World Commission on Environmental Law and the World Commission on Protected Areas to prepare guidelines on the protection, conservation and management of this part of our geoheritage, in compliance with national and international regulations of its commerce. An intensive course, 'The 5 new Geos: Geoconservation, Geoheritage, Geodiversity, Geoparks and Geotourism', was organised as one of the activities in the Conservation Campus. The interactive training and capacity-building sessions of the Conservation Campus provided opportunities to further develop skills for conservation practitioners through peer-to-peer learning and academic sessions. The 3-hour geo- course was given in two sessions, one in English and one in Spanish, with the total participation of Delegates at the WCC (Photo: José Brilha). 30 persons from 10 countries. The GSG Chair, Kyung Sik Woo, contributed as a speaker in the English session. The feedback from participants regarding the overall quality of the course was very good. One of the key issues in the Congress agenda was the approval of the 2017-2020 IUCN Programme. The programme draft submitted to the Congress has three main areas: 1. Valuing and conserving nature; 2. Promoting and supporting effective and equitable governance of natural resources; and 3.