Six of China's national geoparks were selected on Monday as International Geoparks, at the second UNESCO International Conference on Geoparks.

Three of Spain's geoparks, one of Norway's, one Portugal's and one Brazil's, were also selected as International Geoparks at the conference held in Belfast.

Several hundred delegates from all continents attended the conference, including delegates from China's 12 International Geoparks.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Walter Erdelen, assistant director-general for Natural Sciences in UNESCO said that he is glad to note that the number of geoparks and their geographical coverage have almost doubled since the First International Geoparks Conference held in Beijing in 2004.

"All around the world, there has been increasing interest in the need to work together in the field of geological heritage," he said.

The first such conference was held in Beijing, China, in 2004, and the Office of Global Geoparks Network was also established in Beijing. The Second conference focused on Geoparks and their roles in protecting geological heritage, educating the public about the environment, promoting regional sustainable development and developing edu-tourism and geo-tourism.

The objective of the conference was to reflect on the development of the Geoparks initiative across the world, and to celebrate Earth Heritage. The content covered mechanisms that would ensure the continued growth of the initiative and the strengthening of the Global Geoparks Network.

The delegates said that Geoparks are not just about landscapes and rocks, but also about people. Geoparks are developing into top quality products related to tourism, which will sustain both the local environment and the communities who living there.

(Xinhua News Agency September 19, 2006)