The application process for the UNESCO Global Geopark designation is governed by a strict procedure coordinated by the secretariat of the UNESCO International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme.
The application must follow a set framework. It should not exceed 50 pages and should follow the defined plan. A set of annexes is attached to this file, preceded by the candidate-Geopark’s self-assessment report. This self-assessment is a major component of the application. The Normandy-Maine Geopark application was sent to UNESCO via the French National Geoparks Committee on 22 November 2019.
Once the application has been verified as complete, the next step is an analysis of the geological heritage of the candidate territory by experts from the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). The elements transmitted for this analysis must show how the candidate territory presents sites and landscapes of international geological significance. Evaluated during the winter of 2019/2020, the IUGS experts issued a favourable opinion of our application.
Subject to this favourable opinion, two evaluators will then travel to the candidate territory to evaluate the application. The objective is to show how the territory already functions as a Geopark.
Why are we already talking about the Normandy-Maine Geopark when it has not yet been awarded the label?
To qualify for the UNESCO Global Geopark label, the candidate territory must demonstrate how it already functions as a Geopark. This is why, even if it cannot define itself as a UNESCO World Geopark, the candidate territory must give as much visibility as possible to the project by already using the Geopark designation.
The evaluation mission for our application was postponed for over a year due to the pandemic but it could take place in August 2021.
At the end of this process, the evaluators wrote a report that was sent to the UNESCO Global Geoparks Executive Board, which met last December during the Global Geoparks Congress. Their decision was then submitted for approval to the UNESCO Executive Board which met on 7 April 2022! The conclusion of the evaluators' report, which was followed up by the board and approved by UNESCO, is to postpone the final decision for two years. We therefore have until 12 April 2024 to respond to the recommendations made.
What does this mean exactly?
There are three possible responses to an evaluation assignment:
- receive a favourable review with recommendations. In this case, the label is then granted for a period of 4 years and the territory will have to consider the recommendations for the continuation of its actions. It is very rare to receive a favourable opinion on a first application.
- receive a negative review with recommendations. The application is then totally rejected and the candidate territory, subject to a favourable review from the IUGS, will have to start the whole process again if it wishes to pursue its application.
- receive a 2-year deferred review with recommendations. The Board believes that the applicant territory is almost ready to receive a positive endorsement but that there are still some areas of the application that need improvement. It makes recommendations to the applicant territory and the decision is deferred for two years. The applicant territory must implement actions with respect to the recommendations made and submit a supplementary report at the end of the deadline for the Board to make a final decision on the application.
Recommendations made on our application:
- Governance of the Geopark. It is expected that the Regional Nature Park and UNESCO World Geopark designations will complement each other greatly. The Park's joint management syndicate will have to integrate the Geopark more effectively into all existing activities.
- A necessary analytical follow-up. The Geopark must use a specific administrative and financial management in order to account for the specific funds allocated to the Geopark.
- The visibility of the Geopark. The report indicates the need to increase the Geopark's visibility, by producing information on the territory’s geological history in a simple and accessible language, through different media and by deploying coherent signage throughout the territory in order to highlight the Geopark's network of geosites.
- The tourism strategy. Continue, strengthen and improve the visibility of the Geopark's tourism strategy.
- The Geopark partners. Develop a network of partners for the Geopark, with a priority focus on the tourism services sector, activity providers and local products.