The origin of the Geopark concept started with the Digne-les-Bains Convention in France, where the 'Declaration of the Rights to the Memory of the Earth', signed by more than 30 nations in June 1991, pointed out that it was time to protect our natural heritage recorded in rocks and landscapes, that is, our geological heritage.

For the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a geopark is an area where sites of geological heritage represent part of a holistic concept of protection, education, and sustainable development. It should generate economic activity, notably through tourism, and involve a number of geological sites of scientific importance, rarity or beauty, including landforms and their landscapes. Archaeological, paleontological, ecological, historical, or cultural aspects can represent important components of a Geopark.

In the year 2000, with the aim of preserving geological heritage - as there was a growing market for fossil smuggling at that time - four geologists from Germany (Vulkaneifel), France (Réserve Géologique de Haute-Provence), Greece (Lesvos Petrified Forest), and Spain (Maestrazgo Cultural Park) met and signed a protocol to establish the European Geoparks Network (EGN).

The idea and concept of a geopark established by this protocol were so important and promising that they drew the attention of international institutions. Thus, in 2004, it aroused the interest of UNESCO and the International Union of Geological Sciences to participate in this ambitious project. Strategically, the founders of the EGN allowed UNESCO to support the project immediately, and consequently, the network became more solid and recognized worldwide. As a result, representatives from other countries that did not belong to the European Community also became interested in participating in the program.

Therefore, at the beginning of the same year 2004, to meet the growing demand, the Global Geoparks Networks (GGN), a worldwide network of Geoparks, was established.

After some years, during the 38th General Conference of the Global Geoparks Network Organization, on November 17, 2015, after intense political articulation, the representatives of the 195 states and the members of UNESCO ratified the creation of a new nomenclature: The UNESCO Global Geoparks, that is, UNESCO Global Geoparks.

Thus, UNESCO ceased to be just a supporter and began to act as the great articulator of Geoparks. With this, it assumed the responsibility of supporting, managing, promoting, disseminating, and including the geoparks endorsed by its competence holistically.

In summary, a geopark, in UNESCO's concept, should:

- Preserve geological heritage for future generations (geoconservation).
- Educate and teach the general public about geological and environmental themes and provide research opportunities for the geosciences.
- Ensure sustainable development through geotourism, reinforcing the population's identification with their region, promoting respect for the environment, and stimulating socioeconomic activity by creating local enterprises, small businesses, hospitality industries, and new jobs.
- Generate new sources of income for the local population and attract private capital.

To become a UNESCO-approved Geopark, the application process must go through three stages, which are:

Project: the first stage of the process. This is when the Geopark is only a proposal, with small initiatives and collaborations. There has been no contact with any member of UNESCO yet.

Aspiring: the second stage of the process. At this stage, the Geopark in question must have been operational for at least 1 year. The Geopark project is sent by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Itamaraty) to UNESCO, which becomes aware of the existence, proposals, and intentions of that Geopark project, and after this stage, it receives the recognition of Aspiring Geopark.


Geopark Label: the third and final stage. The Geopark team prepares a candidacy dossier with a letter of interest and sends it to the UNESCO Global Geoparks Executive Council between October 1 and November 30. In this way, UNESCO will designate two evaluators to carry out a field evaluation mission, which will take place from May 1 to August, paid for by the aspiring Geopark, to verify all the actions reported in the dossier and check the compliance with the self-assessment actions, a form provided by UNESCO. With this, the UNESCO team provides the receipt of the green card, that is, the UNESCO label, or, if not approved, the team will receive the red card indicating the refusal of its proposal to become a member of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, Sciences, and Culture. To achieve this, cultural activities are carried out that aim to protect cultural heritage, stimulate creation and creativity, and preserve cultural entities and oral traditions, as well as promote books and reading. UNESCO's programs contribute to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals defined in the 2030 Agenda, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015.