Quito, February 13 (Prensa Latina) The capital of Ecuador has today made remarkable progress to obtain the World Geopark designation, said the representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Julio Carranza.
The representative of the international organization met with Quito Mayor Santiago Guarderas on Monday and reported that a meeting will be held in Paris next week to evaluate the proposal.
Reaching this category implies, among a hundred other requirements, the improvement of living space outside the urban area, the preservation of ecological sites, and a willingness to help the community to move forward with this process as soon as possible, Carranza said.
According to the Mayor’s Office official website, if the designation is achieved, Quito will be the first city to have three UNESCO declarations: Biosphere Reserve, World Heritage Site and Geopark.
These spaces are unique geographic areas where sites and landscapes of international geological importance are managed with a holistic approach to protection, education and sustainable development.
Currently, the territory of the province of Imbabura in Ecuador has already received this declaration and it took seven years to reach this category, warned Valeria Arguello, Quito’s director of international relations.
The official pointed out that the capital started the process in 2019 with various obstacles due to the pandemic, but the work will continue in three years.
He pointed out that there are already 16 geosites in the capital municipality, including Itchimbía, El Panecillo, La Luz Hill and Yunguilla.
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