An Overview: Special Issue on “Geoparks and Regional Development”

Geoparks are sites of geoheritage with scientific value, having characteristics such as unique landscapes or landforms, and they operate under the guidelines of the Global Geoparks Network supported by UNESCO. Geoparks aim to conserve and preserve geological heritage and provide means of teaching geoscientific disciplines, while at the same time contributing to sustainable regional development and promotion (Annonymous, 2010). This special issue focus on various aspects of regional development with discussions on community involvement in geoparks conservation, preservation, educational aspects, and integration into sustainable development. Geotourism and geotours based on geological resources of geosites are the main attractions of geoparks. Basic frameworks of geotourism are about conserving the Earth’s scientific resources while using them for research and educational purposes, and finally integrating these resources into sustainable regional development (Dowling and Newsome, 2005). Therefore, the need for a sustainable management system for geoparks arises within community involvement. On the other hand, it is important to convey the natural and cultural heritage related to regional landscapes and landforms to visitors and tourists based on conservation, research, and education (Dowling and Newsome, 2010). Further, geoparks comprise diverse resources of ecological, natural historic, economic, and cultural value for geotourism, and play a key role in regional development (Newsome and Dowling, 2010). This issue contains ten papers and four pages of the frontispiece that identify the relationships between geoparks and local communities. The main discussions in the literature focus on the following areas: ・The concept of geopark and geotourism ・Geotourism based on regional diversity ・Geotourism’s managerial dimensions and its current contribution to regional development. Watanabe (2011) reviews the concept and the background of global geoparks and Japanese geoparks. The basic concept of geoparks is about conserving natural heritage from human activities, while at the same time using natural heritage to achieve sustainable development. Therefore, promoting geotourism is essential in this process. Geotourism can become a new source of income for local communities, and enhance their identity and pride, resulting in an expansion of local people’s consciousness about