Sasha says - What is UNESCO accreditation - a podcast by Whitestone Geopark

Geo-educator, Sasha talks about how the Whitestone Geopark is working towards the UNESCO accreditation for the Geopark.

Transcript:

Radio announcer: Time to talk Geopark, joined by the Geoeducator Sasha once again. Now, UNESCO's status for the Geopark is quite an important landmark this, isn't it.

Geoeducator: That's right. So, currently we're working towards our UNESCO accreditation for our Geopark. This is a massive platform for us. It's been running since 2001, the UNESCO accreditation. And there are currently a hundred and forty seven parks spread over 41 countries with this UNESCO accreditation. So what is it? What is UNESCO accreditation? UNESCO stands for United Nations Education, Science, Cultural Organization. And now their head office is in Paris. So, UNESCO in order to get accredited. You have to meet certain requirements of a Geopark. It's pretty stringent and that's what we've been aiming for. They have a specific definition of a Geopark that's a single unified geographical area. In our case, we've given it the Waitaki District Council boundaries. It's landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development. So it's not just about preserving sites. It's about using them, protecting them, learning about them, but using them in a way that is sustainable for future generations. So that's what we've been really busy doing at the moment. I just encouraged people to jump on our Facebook page like us, follow us, see what we're doing, get involved, get in contact with us and see how you can become part of the Geopark.

Radio announcer: Are there any Geoparks in New Zealand? Other Geoparks?

Geoeducator: No. Look, there's not. We are aiming to be the very fist Geopark that's got a UNESCO accreditation in New Zealand and Australia, believe it or not. So it's a really big, exciting project for us here in the Waitaki District.

Radio announcer: Sounds very cool. Look, thanks very much for your time again, Sasha. We'll catch up again soon.

Geoeducator: I look forward to it. Bye now.

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