Naslov
Geopark Island of Rab - geotourism in function of geoconservation

Autori
Marjanac, Ljerka ; Marjanac, Tihomir & Tomša, Ana Marija

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, stručni

Izvornik
Geological heritage in the south-eastern Europe (eds. Hlad B. & Herlec U.) 12th Regional Conference on Geoconservation and ProGEO Working Group 1 Annual Meeting, Ljubljana 5-9 September 2007, Book of Abstracts / Hlad Branka & Herlec Uroš - Ljubljana, 2007, 58-59

ISBN
978-961-6024-35-8

Skup
12th Regional Conference on Geoconservation and ProGEO Working Group 1 Annual Meeting

Mjesto i datum
Ljubljana, Slovenija, 05.09.2007. - 09.09.2007

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
geoturizam; geološka baština; zaštita
(geotourism; geological heritage; protection)

Sažetak
The project of the Island of Rab Geopark is a joint venture of the Municipality of Rab, the Department of Geology of the Faculty of Science in Zagreb and the ProGEO Croatia. The idea of geopark was presented to the local community as a new approach to the nature conservation and sustainable development, based on evaluation of the geoheritage and its usage in prolongation of the tourist season and enrichment of the tourist offer. The Island of Rab is located in northern Adriatic Sea, Croatia: It has nearly 100 km2 and a population of ca. 9000. The island infrastructure is well developed, the cultural heritage is very rich, and the island has a long tradition in tourism. Its geological diversity, as well as excellent exposures makes it unique in the Adriatic Sea. The first task we undertook was evaluation of the Island of Rab geoheritage, and the second was finding the way to promote the value of geoheritage and importance of its conservation to the local community. In this process, we organized several public lectures, visited local schools and put up the exposition of geological art photography with local motifs. We also committed ourselves to promote the island's geoheritage by organizing field-trips for attendees of various conferences and workshops, AMAC-groups and students of geology. Excellent logistics, as well as close and easily accessible outcrops were beneficial for several training courses organised for petroleum industry specialists, and we also plan to organize several field courses in geology of sedimentary rocks which would take full advantage of the island's geoheritage. Although the local communities widely accepted the idea of geopark on the island, they were also concerned because of the restrictions which are imposed by administrative protection under the Croatian Law on Nature Protection. According to the Law, every geosite or geologically valuable area should be under state protection, which restricts the land use and even its scientific research, but means very little if local population does not protect the site physically. The protected sites in Croatia are being managed by the Public Institution for Managing Protected Areas of Nature (PI) which is funded by the state budget. Since the most important goal of a geopark is to contribute to the sustainable development, its first communal benefits should be the extension of tourism, enhanced self-employment of the local population, and new job opportunities for young people. To counterbalance the scepticism, we have decided to put more effort in education of the local population, so they will understand the reasons why should they protect a geosite, especially if it is located on their property, and the benefit would be their self-employment. If the one can earn money by protecting and cleaning a geosite, showing it to tourists, and making local souvenirs, it will be most beneficial for the conservation of geoheritage. The PI for the Island of Rab is located in the city of Rijeka on the mainland, 110 km away, and we believe the only efficient protection can be on the local basis. Moreover, there is no reason why every geosite or geologically valuable area should be under state protection, which is underfunded even for the already protected sites. Therefore, we envisage organisation of the Rab Geopark as an organization which must have managements rules, and life-long education programme for the local people. So far, there are over hundred geosites registered on the Island of Rab and described in a digital data base according to the ProGEO instructions. The categories we used are: “ geosite” , “ geotrail” and “ geogarden” , which all form the “ geopark” . The evaluation of a particular geosite in terms of scientific, cultural, historical or aesthetic value is still in process. Two geotrails (Premužićeva 1 and Premužićeva 2), out of 10 planned are in final state of preparation, and the explanation plates are quadrilingual (Croatian, English, German, Italian) by demand from the local tourist community.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Geologija

POVEZANOST RADA