Meeting time: September 3-6, 2019

Venue: Rinjani-Lombok UNESCO Global Geopark, Indonesia

Participants of Jingpohu Lake UNESCO Global Geopark: Ma Xiaoqun, Liu Zhansen, Ding Jianguo

Meeting details:

The theme of the 6th Asia-Pacific Geoparks Network Symposium was "UNESCO Global Geoparks Contribute to Supporting Local Communities and Reducing Disaster Risks." Over 600 representatives from 30 countries attended the event, including more than 150 participants from China.

The conference lasted for 4 days, featuring a series of keynote reports, thematic presentations, and poster displays to exchange research on geological heritage protection and scientific studies, geoscience public education, exchanges and cooperation among volcanic geoparks, community participation, disaster prevention and mitigation, and promoting local socio-economic and sustainable development. A special exhibition on global geoparks was also held. Among them, Chinese delegates delivered 22 thematic presentations and showcased 13 posters.

On the eve of the conference, the Asia Pacific Geoparks Network Advisory Committee Meeting and the Asia Pacific Geoparks Network General Assembly were held. During the session, through a voting process, Jin Xiaochi, current Vice President of the Global Geoparks Network and researcher at the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, was elected as the Coordinator of the Asia Pacific Geoparks Network (the former coordinator was He Qingcheng, also a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences). Professor Nakada Setsuya from Japan and Professor Ibrahim-Kumo from Malaysia were elected as Deputy Coordinators.

The Asia-Pacific Geoparks Conference is organized by the Asia-Pacific Geoparks Network and is one of the key events of the Global Geoparks Network, providing an effective platform for researchers and managers of global geoparks to exchange ideas and share experiences. The conference is held biennially and has previously taken place in Malaysia, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, and China for five sessions. The 7th Asia-Pacific Geoparks Conference will be held in September 2021 at the Satun UNESCO Global Geopark in Thailand. Currently, the Asia-Pacific Geoparks Network comprises 60 UNESCO Global Geoparks, including 39 in China.