UNESCO Global Geoparks Council

Mr Amrikazemi has considerable experience in Geoparks across western, central, and southern Asia. He has over 20 years of professional expertise in geotourism, geoheritage, and geoparks, which he believes can promote social and political stability. In Iran, Mr Amrikazemi is the Head of the Geoheritage Department at the Geological Survey of Iran and has served as the Director of Qeshm Island UNESCO Global Geopark since 2016. He has also been a member of the Asia-Pacific Geoparks Network Advisory Committee and has played a crucial role in promoting the UNESCO Global Geopark concept in Iran and the wider region, building capacity in the area with his efforts and expertise.

Mr Amrikazemi authored the first book of its kind at the time, 'Geotourism Atlas of Qeshm Island', published in 2004, which proposed the establishment of a geopark in Iran. He serves as a reviewer for the Geoheritage Journal and Geoconservation Journal globally. Additionally, he has been actively participating and presenting at conferences, workshops, seminars, delivering speeches, lectures, and attending discussions related to geoparks since 2004.

Dr Canet is a distinguished researcher in Earth Sciences at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He has conducted research in various fields of Earth Sciences, resulting in almost 100 scientific papers covering a broad range of topics, including mineral and geothermal resources, geochemistry and mineralogy, marine geology, environmental geology, and geological heritage. Furthermore, he has held management positions related to research at three different UNAM institutes, including Geophysics, Atmospheric Sciences and Climate Change, and Geology.

Dr Canet has played an essential role in promoting UNESCO Global Geoparks in Mexico, particularly in the successful candidacy of Comarca Minera de Hidalgo, which was designated as a UNESCO Global Geopark in May 2017. Additionally, he was a founding member (in June 2017) and the first coordinator (2018-2019 biennium) of the Geoparks Network of Latin America and the Caribbean (GeoLAC Network). He has also provided guidance to various groups interested in establishing new geoparks, thus contributing to the development of the Geoparks programme in Mexico.

Apart from his extensive professional experience, Dr Canet is actively engaged in promoting the Geoparks concept in Mexico and the wider region. He founded and coordinated the Latin-American network of UNESCO Global Geoparks (GeoLAC, 2018-2019) and established the GeoLAC working group on gender equality, setting a standard for other regional networks. Furthermore, he has conducted capacity building activities in several events on behalf of UNESCO or GGN.

Helga Chulepin is a geologist, mining engineering specialist, and community relations developer. She graduated in 1996 and began working in the Geology Department of the Agriculture and Science Faculties at UDELAR in Uruguay, conducting geological research and mapping. Later, she worked as a mining consultant and specialist for environmental and social aspects in the mining industry, responsible for environmental and social impact assessment and sustainability advising on many projects. She has held management positions in several multinational companies. From 2012 to 2015, she served as the technical coordinator of the Grutas del Palacio UNESCO Global Geopark, the first UNESCO Global Geopark in Uruguay and second in Latin America, where she was the technical expert of the application dossier and the auditing process. Today, she collaborates as an external technical advisor and is an individual member of the Global Geoparks Network.

Dr Charalampos Fassoulas is a geologist and the head curator of the Geodiversity department at the Natural History Museum of Crete. He is also a part of the Special Teaching Staff at the University of Crete and serves as the President of the Management Committee for Psiloritis Natural Park, a UNESCO Global Geopark located in Crete.

Dr Fassoulas obtained his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Structural Geology in 1995 and has been working in research and teaching at the University of Crete since then. He has represented Psiloritis Geopark in the Coordination Committee of the European Geoparks Network (EGN) since 2001 and has carried out more than 20 evaluation missions for UNESCO Global Geoparks. He is one of the Senior Evaluators of the International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme.

Dr Fassoulas has been a member of the Advisory Board of the Global Geoparks Network (GGN) for seven years and of the EGN Advisory for six years, where he served as the Vice-coordinator. He has also contributed as the GGN Vice-catalyst on the Geohazards Working Group and as a Catalyst on the EGN Geohazards and Intangible Heritage Working Groups. Additionally, he has been a member of the Geoparks Committee of the Greek National Commission for UNESCO and served as the coordinator of the Greek Geoparks Forum.

Guy Martini is a geologist with a background in anthropology. In the 1980s, he was one of the founders of the French National (and also international) movement for conservation in the Earth sciences. He was the President of the French Network of National Geological Reserves (1985-1995), a member of the Malvern Task Force, and the General Secretary of the first International Symposium on Geological Heritage Conservation, which is at the origin of the "International Declaration of the right of the Earth's Memory" (1991).

In his work, Guy Martini is continually striving to connect territories with art, culture, sciences, and sustainable development. In this respect, he led one of the first European programmes dedicated to a policy on territorial sustainable economy (1994-1997), which is based on the promotion of local heritage and geological heritage. In 1996, after a meeting in China with Nicholas Zouros, he developed and led a first European Programme bringing together four European territories to experiment and develop the concept of Geoparks. This programme later allowed the launching of the European Geoparks Network (2001), leading to the successful development of UNESCO Global Geoparks.

In the history and evolution of UNESCO Global Geoparks' development, Guy Martini is one of the main founding members. He has held a huge number of conferences, organized workshops and written numerous publications on Geoparks all over the world. He has actively supported the creation of many UNESCO Global Geoparks worldwide (South America, Africa, Asia, etc.). He is today the General Secretary of the Global Geoparks Network and chairperson of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council.

Dr Martina Pásková is an Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of Hradec Králové (Czechia). She received her PhD at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Charles University in Prague (Czechia) in Political and Regional Geography in 2003. Her research domains are human geography, environmental studies, ethno-ecology and geo-anthropology, including topics of geoheritage interpretation, geotourism sustainability, geoparks management, and indigenous and local knowledge regarding nature and Earth. Dr Pásková is also working as an expert at the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic, being in charge of geopark development and support, and is a member of the Czech Commission for UNESCO. She has been involved in the geoparks movement for nearly fourteen years.

From 2011 to 2013, she was a member of the Advisory Committee of the European Geoparks Network, and now she is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Global Geoparks Network. She is a member of the Committee on Environment of the Czech Academy of Science, Czech Society of Tourism Scientific Experts, Committee for Landscape, Water and Biodiversity in the Czech Republic Government Council for Sustainable Development, and Geoheritage Specialist Group (GSG) in IUCN-WCPA. She has also been popularising geosciences, geoheritage and geoparks in various media and serves as a reviewer for many scientific journals. Dr Pásková has actively participated in the development of the Latin American and Caribbean Geoparks Network. She served UNESCO as a mentor in one aspiring geopark in Peru and as a lecturer at the Latin American geoparks symposiums on Geoparks and Geoheritage held in Argentina (2013) as well as in Mexico (2015).

Ms Gamble has been involved with strategy, planning and implementation of UNESCO Global Geoparks, having been involved with the programme since 2012. Within Canada, Ms Gamble has significant experience through her roles of scientific advisor and subsequently Executive Director of the Tumbler Ridge UNESCO Global Geopark. She has been the President of the Canadian Geoparks Network (CGN) since 2021. She has served as a member of the CGN since 2012 and was its Vice President from 2019 to 2021. Ms. Gamble has made significant contributions to the work of the CGN, by leading the organization through the development of a strategic plan, encouraging its members to develop relationships with Indigenous Peoples, and by guiding several aspiring geoparks through the development of their application dossiers.

Internationally, Ms Gamble has participated in and presented at several international conferences about geoparks. She has also been a UNESCO Global Geopark evaluator since 2019 and has been selected by UNESCO to perform evaluation and revalidation missions in China and Southeast Asia. Ms Gamble has also collaborated with Indigenous colleagues in Canada and Mexico to work towards meaningful engagement of Indigenous Peoples in UNESCO Global Geoparks.

Ms Gamble is also an expert reviewer in the Canadian evaluation of the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve’s periodic review. Her professional work in heritage project development, as an archaeologist and traditional use specialist, brings a deep understanding of the importance of tangible and intangible cultural heritage to UNESCO’s Global Geoparks Council.

Professor Nakada is a renowned volcanologist and an esteemed academic who holds the position of director-general of the Center for Integrated Volcano Research at NIED, as well as being a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo. With years of fieldwork experience at active volcanoes across the globe, particularly in Japan and Indonesia, he has played an essential role in promoting and developing systematic and continuous observational research to advance the understanding of the intricate details of volcanic eruptions. Prof. Nakada's research has received both domestic and international recognition, and he has received various prestigious awards, including the Volcanological Society of Japan Award, for his outstanding contributions to the field.

Currently, he serves as the chair of the Japan Geopark Committee (JGC), which is the Japanese National Committee for UNESCO Global Geoparks, and actively participates in the training and research activities to maintain and drive the activities of Geoparks in Japan. Furthermore, he has played a significant role in promoting and developing Geoparks worldwide, serving as the chair of the Advisory Committee of the Global Geoparks Network (GGN) from 2016 to 2021 and currently serving as the vice coordinator of the Asian Pacific Geoparks Network (AGPN) since 2017. Prof. Nakada's role as the chair of the JGC allows him to contribute actively to projects that promote UNESCO Global Geopark activities in Japan.

Dr Marie-Luise Frey, the managing director of the UNESCO Messel Pit World Heritage site in Germany, has been working closely with the UNESCO Global Geopark Bergstrasse-Odenwald since 2003. In 1992, she created the world's first Geopark, "Gerolstein/Vulkaneifel, Germany." She is one of the four founding members of the European Geoparks Network, which was launched in 2000.

Since changing her career to the Messel Pit World Heritage site 11 years ago, her focus has been on developing an exchange of experiences between World Heritage sites and Global Geoparks. Together with scientists, creative architects, and design partners, she implemented the new visitor centre at Messel Pit WHS in 2010. Her focal point areas for 17 years have been science and geoheritage transfer, interpretation, and communication in combination with education across geotourism.

Dr Frey's engaged personality is demonstrated by the results of pedagogic and geotourism collaboration projects with UNESCO Global Geopark partners such as Naturtejo, Hong Kong, Lesvos, Vulkaneifel, and the UGGp Bergstraße-Odenwald. She is active in education and geotourism working groups of the European Geoparks Network and UNESCO Global Geoparks in collaboration with UNESCO World Heritage.

Dr Frey was a member of the Global Geoparks Bureau from 2004 until 2015, an external advisor of the European Geoparks Network since 2004, and an elected member of the Executive Board of the Global Geoparks Network since 2016. She has been long-term engaged in governance and networking events and has shown her experience in many evaluation and revalidation missions, supporting aspiring geoparks to find their way forward.

Her core vision is to serve the needs of future generations, promoting peaceful living for all humans in harmony with all organisms on our planet Earth.

Prof Tran Tan Van is the Director of the Vietnam Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources and Head of the Technical Committee on Geoparks under Viet Nam’s National Commission for UNESCO. He holds a BSc in Geology from Azerbaijan State University in Bacu (former USSR) obtained in 1984, an MSc in Geotechnical Engineering from the Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand) in 1994, and a D.Eng. in Geotechnical Engineering from Saitama University (Japan) in 1997. His research interests include karst geology, active tectonics, geohazards, geoheritage, and geoparks.

Prof Van has been actively promoting the geoparks initiative since 2004. He and his team helped develop the Dong Van Karst UNESCO Global Geopark in Northern Viet Nam, which was established in September 2009 and accepted into the Global Geopark Network (GGN) in October 2010. In 2012, Dr Van prepared a nationwide programme for geoheritage conservation and geopark development and management, which was approved by Viet Nam’s Prime Minister in September 2014. Since then, several aspiring geoparks have been established, including the Non Nuoc Cao Bang UNESCO Global Geopark in Northern Viet Nam, which became the second UNESCO Global Geopark of the country in 2018, and the Dak Nong UNESCO Global Geopark in Viet Nam Central Highlands, which became the countries third UNESCO Global Geopark in 2020. Several provinces in Northwestern and Southern Viet Nam are developing their geoparks.

Internationally, Prof Van regularly participates in Geoparks conferences and symposia since 2007 and is one of the founders of the Asia-Pacific Geoparks Network (APGN). Currently, he is a member of both the APGN and GGN Advisory Committees.

Dr Alexandru Andrasanu is a Geobiologist by profession, with a specialisation in heritage conservation. He is an accomplished researcher and academic who currently holds the position of director at the only UNESCO Global Geopark in Romania, namely the Hateg Country Geopark.

Dr Andrasanu's active engagement in expanding the network is evident from his prominent role in various international networking events. His strong commitment towards the cause of promoting geoparks is reflected in his relentless efforts to create greater awareness about their importance and unique features.

With his vast experience and extensive knowledge in the field, Dr Andrasanu is regarded as a key figure in the global geopark community. He continues to work towards enhancing the international cooperation and collaboration amongst geoparks, thereby contributing significantly towards the development and growth of the network.

Dr Gabi Schneider is the Executive Director of the Namibian Uranium Institute. She obtained her PhD from Frankfurt University, Germany, in 1984. In 1985, she joined the Geological Survey of Namibia where she served as Director from 1996 to 2016. Her professional experience spans economic and exploration geology, mineralogy, geo-conservation and geo-education, as well as management and administration.

Dr Schneider's contributions to the field of geology are noteworthy. She is a member of the Committee for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention in Namibia, chairing the Commission’s technical subcommittee. Additionally, she served as a member of the Natural Science Programme Committee of the Namibian National Committee for UNESCO, member of the National Heritage Council of Namibia, and chaired its Scientific Committee. Dr Schneider also served as Senior Advisor for UNESCO's Geopark Programme, councillor of IUGS, Senior Advisor for the UN International Year of Planet Earth, member of the Sustainable Development Council of Namibia, and as Vice Chairperson of the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia.

Dr Schneider's publications reflect her interests in geo-heritage/geo-conservation, having authored several books and co-authored many scientific papers in these fields. She has also contributed to the IGC publication on Africa’s Top Geological Sites and has been involved in the establishment of a geopark in Namibia.

Dr Schneider's contributions have earned her recognition and honors. She served as president of the Organisation of African Geological Surveys and is a member of the Namibian Geoscience Council. She is an honorary life member of the Geological Society of Namibia and an honorary fellow of the Geological Society of London. She is registered with the Namibian Geoscience Council and the South Africa Council for Natural Science Professions.

Ms Audrey Azoulay
Director-General of UNESCO

The General Conference of UNESCO, at its 41st session, has elected Ms Audrey Azoulay for a second mandate as Director-General of the Organization.

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Mr Nikolaos K. Zouros
President of the Executive Board of the Global Geoparks Network (GGN)

Dr. Nikolaos K. Zouros is a Professor in Physical Geography, Geomorphology, Geotectonics, and Geodynamics at the Department of Geography at Aegean University. He was elected Vice President of the Board of Trustees of the University of the Aegean for the period of 2012 to 2017. Dr. Zouros is also the Director of the Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest since its foundation in 1995. His primary duties include the protection, research, and promotion of the Petrified Forest of Lesvos, a National Natural Monument. He is currently the Coordinator of the Lesvos Island UNESCO Global Geopark.

Dr. Zouros is one of the founders of the European Geoparks Network in 2000 and has been the elected Coordinator since 2003. He has organized numerous international conferences, meetings, and workshops on Geoparks. Since 2004, he has worked closely with UNESCO to promote and develop the Geoparks concept in Europe and other parts of the world as a member of the Global Geoparks Bureau. He has evaluated Geoparks in many countries and has been the President of the Global Geoparks Network Executive Board since 2014.

He has coordinated and researched several research projects on seismic hazard in the Aegean islands and on neotectonic studies in Greece and abroad. Dr. Zouros has authored over 100 scientific articles in international journals and conference proceedings. Many of his publications focus on geoparks, earthquake geology, neotectonics, and geohazard awareness raising. He is also the author of 20 books on Geoparks, Geo-conservation, and Geo-tourism. Dr. Zouros is the editor of the European Geoparks magazine and co-editor of the European Geoparks book.

Dr. Zouros is a member of the Central Council of Antiquities in the Greek Ministry of Culture and the Seismotectonic Commission of the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization (EPPO) of Greece.

Mr Stanley C. Finney
Secretary General of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS)

Prof Stanley Finney is a Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at California State University at Long Beach (CSULB). Before being elected Secretary General of IUGS for the term of 2016-2020, he served as Chair of the IUGS Commission on Stratigraphy - ICS (2008-2016), Vice Chair of ICS (2000-2008) and Chair of the ICS Subcommission on Ordovician Stratigraphy (1996-2004). His research focus is stratigraphic paleontology, and he has published on Ordovician graptolites, the Late Ordovician Mass extinction, the Taconic Foreland basin of the Appalachians, Ordovician stratigraphy of the Arbuckle and Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma and Arkansas, the paleogeographic and geotectonic history of the Argentina Precordillera, and the stratigraphy and structure of the Roberts Mountains allochthon of north-central Nevada. More recently, he has addressed the question of the ‘Anthropocene’ as a formal chronostratigraphic unit. He served as Chair of Geological Sciences at CSULB from 1988-2009 and as director of the Environmental Science & Policy degree program at CSULB (2003-2009). He has held positions of Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Natural History at the University of Salzburg, Austria in 2002, and the position of Fulbright Senior Scholar at Charles University, Czech Republic in 2010. 

Mr Bruno Oberle
Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Dr Bruno Oberle assumed office as Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in July 2020.

He brings over 40 years of experience to IUCN at a time when redefining humanity’s relationship with nature is more urgent than ever. Before joining IUCN, Dr Bruno Oberle served in some of Switzerland’s most prestigious positions related to the environment. Between 2005 and 2015, as State Secretary for the Environment and Director of the Federal Office for the Environment for Switzerland, he represented Switzerland in leading international institutions and international negotiations, playing a key role in the Global Environment Facility and in the establishment of the Green Climate Fund.

Dr Oberle is a leading expert in the fields of sustainable resource management and green economy and has explored and shaped the interface between environmental policy, economic development and social equity from the perspective of state regulator, entrepreneur and scientist.

Prior to joining IUCN, Dr Oberle served as Chair of the Green Economy and Resource Governance programme at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) from 2016, where he also headed the International Risk Governance Centre. Since 2019, he has chaired the Global Tailings Review, which aims to establish an international standard for the safe management of tailings storage facilities that can be applied to dams around the world. He was also the lead author of the Global Resources Outlook 2019, written in his capacity as an active member of the International Resource Panel, which he joined in 2015.

Preceding his academic and government roles, Dr Oberle founded and managed companies in the fields of environmental consulting and environmental management, using the expertise gained from his doctorate in environmental sciences at ETH Zurich.