Nine new sites were added to the UNESCO-supported Global Geoparks Network during the 4th Asia-Pacific Geoparks Network Symposium that took place in the San’in Kaigan Geopark, Japan, from 16 to 20 September.

Global Geoparks are territories, which promote their geo-diversity through community-led initiatives to enhance regional sustainable development. They promote awareness of geological hazards and many help local communities prepare disaster mitigation strategies. They celebrate the 4.6-billion-year history of our Planet and the geo-diversity that has shaped every aspect of our lives and societies.

The Global Network now numbers 120 Geoparks in 33 countries.

• More information on the new sites
• Photo gallery of the newly designated sites

Small Island Developing States are experiencing some of the earliest and most severe impacts of climate change. Through a series of case studies illustrated with compelling satellite imagery, a new publication documents environmental changes in estuaries, mangroves, corals, coastlines and forests; as well as different approaches to land use and conservation; urbanization, tourism infrastructure and industrialization and finally disasters from pre-event hazard maps to impacts such as flooding and landslides and finally reconstruction efforts. It is a demonstration of how effective a tool remote sensing can be to assess natural or human induced processes, developed and published within the framework of an environmental management project in collaboration with the University of Ghent (Belgium).

• Changing Small Island Developing States: A space perspective on environmental change in the Caribbean (pdf)
• For further information