9:00 AM - 9:15 AM
[MIS08-01] The trajectory of the “Water Geopark” - Looking back at the history of Hakusan Tedorigawa UGGp from preparations for its establishment to UGGp certification
★Invited Papers
Keywords:Hakusan Tedorigawa UNESCO Global Geopark, water, exogenic process, geo story
In May 2023, Hakusan Tedorigawa Geopark was certified as a UNESCO Global Geopark. Based on my experience as an academic committee member who was involved in everything from basic concept planning to world certification, I would like to explain how the Hakusan Tedorigawa GP chose "water" as its theme, and miscellaneous feelings surrounding UGGp certification. The theme of "water" had two sides: on the one hand, there were academic limitations in explaining its outstanding value, but on the other hand, it had a great effect for collaboration with citizens. In reality, this is being dealt with by changing the emphasis placed on explanations for academic and citizens/geotours.
Hakusan Tedorigawa GP was certified as a Japanese Geopark in 2011. This is the region to be certified, following the 14 regions certified from 2008 to 2010. The main themes of the previous 14 regions were 5 volcanic regions, 5 crustal deformation regions, and 4 geological structures/fossil regions.
Hakusan City was created in 2005 through the merger of one city, two towns, and five villages, and regional integration and the construction of a regional identity were important issues. After neighboring Katsuyama City was certified as a Japanese Geopark in 2009, Geoparks were brought up in a general question at the city council meeting in May 2010, and the mayor established a promotion council in November of the same year. At the academic committee that was established at the same time, the discussion was about "in order to unify the city", we should set a theme that would appeal to the residents of the plain area, which has a large population. Therefore, we decided to set a theme that focused on the Tedorigawa River, which is a common and important "land" for the entire Hakusan City area. Since rivers are the main subject, the original story was "Mountains, rivers, oceans, and snow: a journey of water that nourishes life",which placed the water cycle and its relationship with topography, geological phenomena, living things, and human society at the core of the geostory. became the theme. Water is easy to visualize as a resource, and local residents have a higher level of understanding of the relationship between geology and people, and the area from the summit of Mt. We believe that this setting is effective for the task.
At a time when geological phenomena caused by the solid Earth and internal forces were attracting attention, it was challenging to propose a geopark that focused on external forces. Although it was ridiculed as a "water park", it was praised by topographers and geographers.
The fact that the Hakusan Tedorigawa GP had water as its main theme had various effects on the UGGp certification process.
Domestic nominations for the Hakusan Tedorigawa GP were held in 2013 and 2015, but no nominations were accepted. In 2013, based on the fact that awareness and understanding of water-themed geoparks is low even in the geopark community, we decided to focus on "water-themed geoparks" and held public presentations with the main purpose of supporting them. was carried out. On the other hand, in 2015 efforts were strengthened to obtain a recommendation, but this was again shelved. The reason for the postponement was that there was a lack of academic explanation that the theme of "water" had international value. When the nominations are decided in 2020, the core land heritage will be changed to fossil production areas, and Water Story will become a subtitle, which will be used accordingly.
On the other hand, the theme of "Water" was highly understood and appreciated by local residents who will be working on the project, including "cooperation with local organizations" and "nurturing leaders", and received high praise in the 2020 nomination process. The local judges also expressed high interest in and appreciation of the land that water creates and the connection between land and people through water.
Hakusan Tedorigawa GP was certified as a Japanese Geopark in 2011. This is the region to be certified, following the 14 regions certified from 2008 to 2010. The main themes of the previous 14 regions were 5 volcanic regions, 5 crustal deformation regions, and 4 geological structures/fossil regions.
Hakusan City was created in 2005 through the merger of one city, two towns, and five villages, and regional integration and the construction of a regional identity were important issues. After neighboring Katsuyama City was certified as a Japanese Geopark in 2009, Geoparks were brought up in a general question at the city council meeting in May 2010, and the mayor established a promotion council in November of the same year. At the academic committee that was established at the same time, the discussion was about "in order to unify the city", we should set a theme that would appeal to the residents of the plain area, which has a large population. Therefore, we decided to set a theme that focused on the Tedorigawa River, which is a common and important "land" for the entire Hakusan City area. Since rivers are the main subject, the original story was "Mountains, rivers, oceans, and snow: a journey of water that nourishes life",which placed the water cycle and its relationship with topography, geological phenomena, living things, and human society at the core of the geostory. became the theme. Water is easy to visualize as a resource, and local residents have a higher level of understanding of the relationship between geology and people, and the area from the summit of Mt. We believe that this setting is effective for the task.
At a time when geological phenomena caused by the solid Earth and internal forces were attracting attention, it was challenging to propose a geopark that focused on external forces. Although it was ridiculed as a "water park", it was praised by topographers and geographers.
The fact that the Hakusan Tedorigawa GP had water as its main theme had various effects on the UGGp certification process.
Domestic nominations for the Hakusan Tedorigawa GP were held in 2013 and 2015, but no nominations were accepted. In 2013, based on the fact that awareness and understanding of water-themed geoparks is low even in the geopark community, we decided to focus on "water-themed geoparks" and held public presentations with the main purpose of supporting them. was carried out. On the other hand, in 2015 efforts were strengthened to obtain a recommendation, but this was again shelved. The reason for the postponement was that there was a lack of academic explanation that the theme of "water" had international value. When the nominations are decided in 2020, the core land heritage will be changed to fossil production areas, and Water Story will become a subtitle, which will be used accordingly.
On the other hand, the theme of "Water" was highly understood and appreciated by local residents who will be working on the project, including "cooperation with local organizations" and "nurturing leaders", and received high praise in the 2020 nomination process. The local judges also expressed high interest in and appreciation of the land that water creates and the connection between land and people through water.