The last twenty years have seen considerable developments in geotourism, a form of sustainable tourism. This has been also a period of significant development for UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGps), on one hand with the creation of the International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme, and the other, in the number and diversity of UGGps recognised across the world. Geoparks have particular characteristics, such as a spatial engagement across an area, as well as the long-term commitment associated with this type of label. UGGps take a broad approach to geotourism, and seek to engage with all demographics, including “unsuspecting” geotourists. This is particularly relevant when considering that the Geopark profile has evolved since the introduction of the UNESCO label, and that a number UGGps are pre-existing tourist destinations and have diverse economies and strong growth. UGGps draw on professional, multidisciplinary teams that combine scientific knowledge, science communication, and outreach events to achieve effective heritage transmission through actions that target schools, the local population, and the general public. These are not traditional structures and do not have behavioural constraints imposed on them as experienced by some educational structures or museums. The present case study is an example of the type of innovation seen in UGGps, whereby novel solutions are employed in order to touch as wide a public as possible. The action presented is a winter outreach event for the general public in the Chablais UNESCO Global Geopark (France), that was developed in partnership with the Portes du Soleil association of 12 ski resorts. This consisted of an orienteering/treasure hunt game across one of the world’s largest ski domains, that included panels with anecdotes presenting different aspects of the Chablais geoheritage. It demonstrates that it is possible to engage with a sporting public that is seeking experiences and is not expecting to sacrifice time or exert effort to deepen knowledge or gain cultural insight. Interestingly, the study shows that careful event design, including concise language choice and a strict avoidance of technical vocabulary, results in the effective transmission of heritage information. The game participants were not geotourists, and yet displayed a good appetite for Earth science and cultural heritage knowledge. The study concluded that the sporting general public retained information about the geoheritage of the area, was open to participating in future Chablais UGGp events, and that they were interested in returning both to explore other aspects of the territory, and to visit in other seasons. The Chablais UGGp assessed the success and quality of the event and confirmed the relevance of a well-considered and layered geotourism strategy for territories with an UGGp label.

Since both the EU Erasmus+ program and UNESCO Global Geoparks aim at developing models of best practices, a shared playground for common activities can be found in high geodiversity and rich geoheritage areas to promote innovative education and professional perspectives in the ecological transition. Two consecutive Erasmus+ cooperative partnerships (GEOclimHOME and GEOclimHOME-PRO) involved schools, research institutions, and three European geoparks (Rokua, Finland; Sesia Val Grande, Italy; Chablais, France) for improved perception of climate and environmental changes and appraisal of geoheritage. The common pedagogical approach is presented in this review paper as well as the different methodological solutions for (1) understanding climate change and (2) recognising its natural and human factors, by environmental research and professional experiences. Activities were first addressed to explore the “secret” values of geoheritage for awareness on climate changes. Later, active/passive roles of humans toward the environment have been analysed, which are related to the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs). Results of educational activities demonstrated enhanced students’ awareness of social and environmental responsibility. Moreover, the actions highlighted new job opportunities, accomplishing the local and global needs of sustainable development, future skills, and lifestyles within geopark territories.

This article shows how the process of undertaking geoscience research can enrich public knowledge and appreciation of Earth science methods, concepts and systems. Place-based organizations such as UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGps) act as moderators between researchers and territorial stakeholders in order to foster greater sensibility around geosciences and society. Policy and actions to address sustainable development, climate change and biodiversity issues are being developed rapidly, but generally geoscience contributions and the part they play are not explicitly presented. The Chablais UGGp developed an approach to improve public and stakeholder Earth science literacy. The methodology was tested in three research projects where the UGGp moderated between researchers and local stakeholders. It further leveraged the research activity to a wider public through diverse communication channels and activities. The experience demonstrated that active participation in research projects enabled politicians to develop greater Earth science understanding and a heightened awareness of its relevance to society. This geoscience literacy enables decision makers to deliver a deeper, more integrated territorial management and sustainable development that is inclusive of Earth sciences.

With heightened awareness of the biodiversity crisis and a changing climate, scientific and policy commentary increasingly calls for taking an integrated approach to the natural world, often referring to both biodiversity and ecosystems. Despite this, a crucial aspect of nature, that of geodiversity, is largely invisible to society today. Outside the geoscientific realm, many engaged with the protection and management of nature consider that abiotic nature is always directly or indirectly factored in, particularly when mention of ecosystems has been made. Practical experience within the Chablais UNESCO Global Geopark, in which areas are recognised by different international and national nature designations, does not support these assumptions. Field experience demonstrates that these generalisations are not only incomplete, having excluded important abiotic features, processes and cycles, but completely overlook the different temporal and spatial scales on which geodiversity operates.Furthermore, natural heritage protection and outreach approaches often refer in articles or management documents to using a holistic approach when for example, only biodiversity and water, or alternatively only biodiversity and soils, are taken into account. This simplification of the facets of abiotic nature further highlights the low understanding of what constitutes geodiversity, and its significant role in interconnected and interdependent natural world.Initiatives have been undertaken to build systematic and explicit inclusion of geodiversity into both management actions, as well as outreach and community projects, with the overarching objective of restoring and protecting nature, promoting habitat connectivity and mosaics, and in turn improving climate change resilience.

Awareness is increasing amongst decision makers that societal challenges such as climate change, water resource management, biodiversity loss, poor soil health and air quality are interlinked. In contrast the holistic approach to Nature by pioneering 18th century natural scientists where biotic and abiotic components were interdependent, modern western science has evolved into specialised scientific disciplines. Today, science influenced global accords such as the Paris Agreement on climate change, Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and numerous United Nations Sustainable Development Goals place great emphasis on the biotic components of the natural world. Strategies and legislation at national level generally follow this trend and influence natural heritage management approaches.Case studies from the Chablais UNESCO Global Geopark in France illustrate the impact of a transdisciplinary approach to natural heritage management where both biotic and abiotic factors are considered. The explicit inclusion of geodiversity informed stakeholder decisions over matters such as the choice of legal conservation measures, the definition of protected area limits and content for public communication programs. Different decisions were taken as a result of this inclusive approach to Nature in the municipalities of Montriond and La Baume. The ongoing work in the Chablais region confirms the need for scientists, natural heritage managers and politicians to share a common understanding of nature and ecosystems that explicitly includes geodiversity.