Meeting time: September 11-14, 2018

Meeting location: Adamello Brenta UNESCO Global Geopark, Italy

Participants from Jingpohu Lake UNESCO Global Geopark: Gao Yan, Sun Dezhi, Ma Xiaoqun,

Li Jiangfeng, Bao Kun

Meeting details:

September 11-14, the 8th UNESCO Global Geoparks Conference was held in the Adamello Brenta UNESCO Global Geopark in Italy, with the theme "Geoparks and Sustainable Development." More than 850 representatives from 64 countries attended the event, and Italian President Sergio=Mattarella sent a congratulatory letter to the conference.

The conference lasted for 4 days, featuring 4 keynote reports, 208 thematic presentations, and 104 poster displays, focusing on topics such as geological heritage protection and scientific research, public education and communication, sustainable tourism and socio-economic development, promoting the construction and development of aspiring UNESCO Global Geoparks, and international and regional cooperation among Global Geoparks. Among them, Chinese representatives actively participated, delivering 24 thematic presentations and 14 poster displays across various sessions, while also setting up 8 geopark exhibition booths to widely share the "Voice of China."

During the conference, China's Guangwushan-Nuoshuihe UNESCO Global Geopark and China's Huanggang Dabieshan UNESCO Global Geopark were awarded membership certificates of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network (UGGN). China's Zigong UNESCO Global Geopark received the "Best Practice Award" from the UGGN for 2016-2017. Jiang Jianjun, former Director-General of the Department of Science, Technology and International Cooperation of the Ministry of Land and Resources, and Long Changxing, former member of the UGGN Bureau and former Director of the Institute of Geomechanics at the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, were named Honorary Members of the UGGN in recognition of their outstanding contributions to promoting the development of geoparks in China and globally.

Prior to the conference, the third session of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council was held to review the applications and revalidation of UNESCO Global Geoparks for 2018, including 2 new applications, 3 expansion requests, and 10 revalidation cases from China. The final results will be announced after the UNESCO Executive Board meeting in April-May 2019.

The UNESCO Global Geoparks Conference is one of the largest and highest-level professional meetings in the field of geoparks, providing an effective platform for researchers and managers of global geoparks to exchange ideas.