On 9 – 11 May 2023 in Banská Štiavnica, representatives of the Visegrád Group (V4) countries met to sign an agreement on geoparks.

The meeting was attended by employees of the Polish Geological Institute – NRI: Deputy Director for Research and Development Dr Piotr Szrek and Head of International Cooperation Marta Banasiewicz. The Director of the Department of Geological Supervision and Raw Materials Policy of the Ministry of Climate and Environment, Magdalena Piątkowska, was also present.

The agreement has been signed for an indefinite period and its scope will include:

• identification of areas suitable for the creation of geoparks, considering the natural values,
• preparation of proposals for conceptual and strategic materials and action plans related to the functioning of geoparks for possible use at the public administration level,
• promotion of establishment, functioning and development of geoparks,
• cooperation with the World Geoparks Network and UNESCO Global Geoparks bodies.

Piotr Szrek signs cooperation agreement within the Visegrád Group on geoparks

During the meeting, discussions also took place between the participants on the possibilities of cooperation within the framework of the agreement as well as within the V4 Group. Many relevant and important ideas and proposals were raised, such as:

• the creation of a commission to verify the need for the establishment of geoparks,
• the creation of a commission for cooperation between geoparks,
• the creation of a joint directorate for geoparks to monitor and support the operation of geoparks.

Participants of the meeting expressed a clear opinion that geoparks should be a tool for development at the local level and should also deal with education so that local governments will better understand the nature of their functioning. Geoparks should also deal with informing and educating the public, environmental education, interpretation of geological heritage, educating teachers and tour leaders (as is already happening, for example, in the Czech Republic).

It was also recognised that the cooperation of all countries within the V4 Group is especially important, as the territories of the geoparks partly overlap and are located on the territories of two countries, hence cooperation and coordination activities are crucial.

Signatories of the Agreement