The Island of Bohol has officially been designated as the first United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) global geopark of the Philippines.
According to the provincial government of Bohol, the UNESCO Executive Board endorsed Bohol Island as UNESCO global geopark during its 216th session held in Paris, France on Wednesday, May 24.
“The Island Province now becomes the first and the only one in the Philippines to get the UNESCO designation,” it said in a statement posted on Facebook.
The Bohol provincial government recounted that Bohol’s journey as a UNESCO Global Geopark began in 2013 when researchers from the University of the Philippines (UP) School of Urban and Regional Planning "conducted field works on potential Geoparks in the country and identified the Province's geological karst and limestone landforms as a prospect.”
Two years later, it said that the UP researchers initiated “research, collaborations, and workshops” in preparation for the UNESCO designation as guided by the Philippine National Commission for UNESCO (UNACOM).
“Bohol became one of the 18 potentially new Global Geoparks nominated in 2022 for its geological significance and scientific importance,” the provincial government stated.
Aside from Bohol, 17 other sites from different countries around the world, including New Zealand's Waitaki Whitestone, Malaysia's Kinabalu, and Japan's Hakusan Tedorigawa, have been endorsed by UNESCO this 2023.
With this development, there are now 195 UNESCO Global Geoparks in 48 countries.
In a statement posted on its website, UNESCO described Bohol Island as a “geopark abounds in karstic geosites such as caves, sinkholes and cone karst, including the famous cone-shaped Chocolate Hills in the centre of the geopark.”
“The Danajon Double Barrier Reef along the northern coast is the only one of its kind in Southeast Asia and one of just six documented double barrier reefs on Earth; it provides visitors with a chance to discover 6,000 years of coral growth,” it added.
Formed in 2015, UNESCO Global Geopark aims to "recognizes geological heritage of international significance."
