National governance for UNESCO Global Geoparks: insights and strategic pathways from Colombia's experience within the International Geoscience and Geoparks Program

Abstract

UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGps) represent an emerging opportunity for sustainable territorial development, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean, where governance frameworks for their establishment remain nascent. This paper presents the progress made between 2020 and 2021 toward the creation of a National Technical Committee in Colombia for UNESCO's International Geoscience and Geoparks Program (IGGP), documenting the institutional processes, comparative analyses, and methodological approaches developed. The study draws on a review of National Geopark Committee structures in Ibero-America — specifically Spain, Portugal, Uruguay, Ecuador, and Cuba — as well as Colombia's existing national regulatory frameworks for geological and paleontological heritage. A typology of three organizational models was identified: an interinstitutional committee, a joint committee with civil society representation, and a two-body structure combining institutional and civil representation. From this typology, a fourth hybrid scenario was proposed for Colombia, combining elements of all three models to address the country's institutional and territorial context. This hybrid model incorporates a national coordination body alongside regional working groups, enabling multi-level, participatory governance. The regional working group methodology was applied to the Chicamocha Canyon geopark project, demonstrating its effectiveness in articulating actors across governmental, academic, civil society, and community levels. The results highlighted the involvement of the National Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO as a key factor across all analyzed cases. They also confirm that governance — at both national and local levels — constitutes the primary challenge for UGGps development. The absence of a standardized model for National Geopark Committee creation necessitates significant contextual adaptation. In the Colombian case, the Geological Survey of Colombia (SGC) led the development of a decree proposal for the formal establishment of the committee, involving national entities and drawing on relevant international and domestic legal frameworks. The proposed National Technical Committee for the International Geoscience and Geoparks Program is conceived as a permanent inter-institutional and multidisciplinary platform to coordinate efforts toward the development of UGGps, promote geoscientific research, and strengthen environmental and territorial governance, as well as contributes to international engagement such as the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda. These findings contribute to the design of context-specific governance practices and provides transferable insights for other countries in the region seeking to establish their own national coordination mechanisms for UNESCO Global Geoparks It is also intended as a reference for future governmental decision-making by highlighting the need for stronger stakeholder articulation within an adapted governance framework.