In this List of UNESCO Global Geoparks in Asia, the term "Asia" means the UNESCO regional network of "Asia Pacifica," which is not a distinction of continents.

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

, historically the first Greek "Asia," from

Luwian The Luwians were a group of Anatolian peoples who lived in central, western, and southern Anatolia, in present-day Turkey, during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. They spoke the Luwian language, an Indo-European language of the Anatolian sub-fa ...

aswiya, today is part of the

European Geoparks Network The European Geoparks Network (EGN) functions as the regional organization of the Global Geoparks Network (GGN) and the UNESCO International Geosciences and Geoparks Programme (UNESCO-IGGP). Its main objective is to ensure cooperation between geop ...

, as is western

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. As there are not yet any geoparks in

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

, or eastern Russia, the question of what geopark region it is remains unsettled. Hence the "Asia" portion of Asia Pacifica means southern and central

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

with

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

, which merges into the undefined "Pacifica," presumably involving islands of the Pacific. They must include

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, not generally considered Southeast Asian or part of Asia. Strictly speaking, distinctions of continent are not being embraced. All UNESCO regions, however, distinguish the regions by their nations, as part of the bottom up structure of UNESCO geopark networks. A geopark must first apply for accreditation in a "National Geopark Network," if it exists, or its equivalent if it does not. "National Geopark" is a label affixed by UNESCO to noteworthy parks or park systems within a nation. Once accredited there, the geopark applies (through its managers) to the Asia Pacific Geoparks Network (APGN). Only after its certification as a regional geopark can it apply for certification as a UNESCO Global Geopark, the international network, of which there is only one. As of 2022, there are 65 geopark members in the APGN from 8 countries, of which 41 are situated in China.

Certified Global Geoparks in the APGN

A certified global geopark is necessarily a certified regional geopark, here the APGN, and a certified national geopark. If any of the three levels of certification are missing for a park, it cannot be a global geopark and does not appear in the list.

References

External links

Asia Pacific Geoparks Network
(accessed 10 February 2020) {{UNESCO Global Geoparks Geoparks in Asia

Certified Global Geoparks in the APGN

See also

References

External links