UNESCO experts visited Bashkortostan Geoparks

UFA, 15 August 2019. /Bashinform News Agency/ translated by Tatiana Aksyutina/.

UNESCO experts Patrick McKeever, one of the founders of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network program and his colleague Suren Gevinyan, paid a working visit to the Republic of Bashkortostan. They discussed topical issues on the creation and development of Geoparks in the territory of Bashkortostan with the scientific community and the leadership of the republic.

During their trip, the UNESCO experts visited the Yangan-Tau Geopark in the Salavatsky district, got acquainted with the activities for organizing scientific and practical work in accordance with the UNESCO requirements and criteria.

A visiting meeting of the working group on the creation and development of the Toratau Geopark with the participation of UNESCO experts and representatives of the Republic of Bashkortostan Committee for UNESCO, the Ministry of Nature Management and Ecology of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Office for State Protection of Cultural Heritage, the State Committee for Entrepreneurship and Tourism, as well as the scientific community of the republic, representatives of the administrations of Ishimbaysky, Sterlitamaksky, Gafurisky districts and the city of Salavat was held in the territory of Mount Toratau in the Ishimbay region. The issues on implementing a road map for the creation of the Toratau geopark were discussed there.

One of the topics of negotiations with the UNESCO experts related to an international seminar-meeting of participants of the UNESCO Global Geoparks program and representatives of several foreign countries and regions of the Russian Federation to be held in November of this year at the Yangan-Tau Geopark, as well as the 10th International Conference of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network in the Republic of Bashkortostan in 2022.

Currently, there are 147 Geoparks in 41 countries in the world; they are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

In the near future, the Yangan-Tau Geopark is awaiting legal confirmation of the status of the UNESCO Geopark, and the Toratau Geopark is making positive steps towards joining the world community of UNESCO Geoparks - the UNESCO Global Geopark Network.