The World Geoparks Network is a non-profit organization. The first geoparks network dates back to 2000 and is entirely European, in 2004 in Paris, the establishment of the Global Geopark Network, the first World Geoparks Network, was created by 17 European and 8 Chinese geoparks. In November 2015, on the occasion of the 38th Unesco general conference, geoparks become a new category of UNESCO sites. (UNESCO GLOBAL GEOPARKS). They are therefore defined open-air laboratories of development, management of the earth’s heritage, creating and exchanging collaborations and experiences through the network.
Three fundamental objectives: Environment Conservation, Earth Sciences Education and promotion of sustainable economic development at local level. Any geopark is subject to a revalidation every 4 years which verifies the functioning and quality of the work performed by receiving a green card to confirm the validation or a yellow or red card for loss of status.