Environmental Pollution in Geopark Management: A Systematic Review of the Literary Evidence

Abstract

Dozens of geoparks have been created in the world since the beginning of the 21st century. Their environmental impact is yet to be fully understood. A bibliographical survey was undertaken to systematically review the journal articles devoted to environmental pollution in geoparks. The considered literature focuses on 10 geoparks (many of them are the members of the UNESCO Global Geoparks network) from eight countries, namely, China, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, and South Korea. Significant pollution was registered in half of these geoparks. Trace metals and metalloids such as arsenic and cadmium are often reported as pollutants. Water pollution is the most common. In many cases, environmental pollution is not related to geoparks, but results from agricultural and industrial activities. Sometimes, this pollution is inherited from past mining activities, and the latter are related to the geoheritage represented in the geoparks. However, there are also examples of pollution triggered by tourist activities in geoparks and the related infrastructural failures. Various mitigation approaches are considered in the literature (establishing monitoring networks, installing filtration membranes, etc.). It is argued that environmental pollution can be used in geoparks for eco-education and eco-awareness initiatives. Research in environmental pollution in geoparks is an emerging field, and does not avoid multiple biases. Nonetheless, the actual importance of this research is undisputable, and it will be demanded in the future.