The Councils of Loulé, Silves and Albufeira, as well as the University of the Algarve’s Marine and Environmental Research Centre (CIMA), will sign a collaborative protocol with the aim creating a UNESCO World Geopark. The ceremony will take place next Monday, December 2nd, at 4:30 pm, at Loulé City Hall.
This session will be attended by mayors Vítor Aleixo, Rosa Palma, and José Carlos Rolo, as well as the dean of the University of the Algarve Paulo Águas.
The protocol will allow for the creation of the Algarvensis Geopark, covering areas of Loulé, Silves, and Albufeira, and the aim of the Geopark is to be able to tell a geological story through the rocks of the region, spanning from around 360 million years ago.
The main purpose of UNESCO Geoparks such as the one proposed is the promotion of the sustainable development of the region’s communities, and their quality and way of life, as well as geological richness. It is hoped that this UNESCO recognition will make the area of the three counties more sustainable and attractive to tourists as a destination of world interest, through its geological heritage.
Moreover, the UNESCO World Geoparks combine the protection and promotion of geological heritage with local development initiatives, through a set of geosites or geomonuments that showcase the evolution of planet Earth.
In the Algarvensis Geopark the main places of geological interest areas are Rocha da Pena, the sandstone sites in Silves, and the valley around Paderne Castle.
This idea of creating a UNESCO World Geopark in the Algarve first came to fruition in the mind of Vitor Aleixo, Mayor of Loulé, after a major discovery: the Metoposaurus algarvensis, an amphibian whose fossils were found in the Penina geosite. It is from this fossil discovery that the whole project has developed, now including areas of Silves and Albufeira. Moreover, still within the scope of these initiatives, on December 7th, at 3pm, the Loulé Secondary School will host a conference with the participants in this project, including specialists in the area – Dr. Octávio Mateus, from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, who is the researcher who led the international team that excavated the Penina deposit, where Metoposaurus Algarvensis was discovered, and Dr. Artur Sá, from the University of Minho, who will talk about the challenges and opportunities that the new Geopark will bring to the three Algarvean municipalities.
