They found that they had a common interest in conserving and protecting the geological heritage of the areas in which they worked.  Not only that but they were keen to improve the public’s understanding of earth science.  They figured that developing attractions based upon the geology of an area would help visitors to appreciate and ultimately care for those special qualities.

They looked across Europe for other partners who shared these ideals and soon found them in Haute Provence (France), Maestrazgo / Terruel (Spain), Lesvos Island (Greece) and Vulkaneifel (Germany).  This group of four won funding from the European Community to achieve their aims and so the European Geoparks Network was born.

Since that time more than two dozen other areas across Europe have joined the network.

In 2004 UNESCO decided to establish a Global UNESCO Network of Geoparks into which came the existing 17 European Geoparks along with 8 new Chinese Geoparks.  There are now Geoparks in Iran and Brazil too.