"Yangan-Tau" Geopark will be considered for inclusion in UNESCO heritage list in May 2018

UFA, 8 December 2017. /Bashinform News Agency, Olga Murtazina/. "Yangan-Tau" Geopark will be considered for inclusion in the UNESCO heritage list in May 2018, reported on the sidelines of the 1st Forum on the Development of the Northeast of Bashkortostan. It was attended by the head of the program "UNESCO Global Geoparks" Patrick McKiver and international expert on geoparks Suren Givinyan.

"Geopark is not only geology, but also a connection with the heritage of culture and nature. The application of Bashkiria will be the first from the Russian Federation, this will create a precedent, so it is important to do everything right. In summer, UNESCO experts will arrive in the Salavat region to approve a status of the territory. We will give all the necessary recommendations for the preparation of the population for this work. The fact is that within the geopark, local residents should earn money by showing native practices and crafts", said Patrick McKiver. "In this case, it's livestock, beekeeping, making musical instruments, folk costumes. It is desirable to present as many folk crafts as possible. "

The documents on the geopark creation are promptly prepared by a team of specialists, which included scientists from the Ufa Science Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Kazan University, the Ministry of Ecology of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. The Prime Minister of the Government of Bashkiria Rustem Mardanov noted that thanks to them the republic managed to apply first of the regions of Russia. The "Baikal" Geopark, as well as the territory of Altai, Dagestan, Karelia are waiting their turn. There are 127 geoparks in 35 countries in the UNESCO list.

The area of the geopark is 1,8 thousand square kilometers. Here there are more than 20 geological objects of international and national importance. The main geological sight is the Mechetlino section, which contains fossils of the flora and fauna of the Permian period (290 million years ago).