Copper Coast Geopark in County Waterford, Ireland.
One of 3 geoparks in Ireland. A charming geopark with quaint villages, picturesque beaches and a rich copper-mining history.
“The story of the Earth itself hadn’t been told before. People know about the biodiversity and culture of the landscape but geoparks tell us about the memory of the planet itself in a non-scientific way,” says Patrick McKeever, secretary of the international geosciences programme at Unesco."
Geological Survey of Ireland director Koen Verbruggen says UK research has found that geoparks are bringing more economic benefit to regions than world heritage sites bring.
“Ireland has a great diverse geology and the geoparks are a great opportunity to link local sustainable tourism to geology. Farming and regional foods are dictated by soil and therefore by geology. Geoparks celebrate all of this,” he says.
(https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/geology-rocks-ecotourism-1.3046279; Apr 22, 2017)
