• Three Local Action Groups from Málaga are cooperating to create the Guadalhorce Geopark through the support of the LEADER approach.

• This project aims to preserve, promote and educate about this mountain territory that covers three regions of the province.

In the early 1990s, France, Germany, Greece, and Spain joined forces to begin categorizing certain areas as geoparks , or geological parks. Since then, the number has grown to a total of 213 worldwide. According to data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation , there are 18 geoparks in Spain, stretching from the Canary Islands to Catalonia, making us the country with the second most geological parks on the planet after China.

Given the lack of one in the province of Malaga, the Local Action Groups (LAG) representing three regions of Malaga - Guadalhorce, Guadalteba, Sierra de las Nieves and Serranía de Ronda -, their local councils and the Provincial Council, have joined forces to create the "Guadalhorce Geopark" project.

The project itself—funded through the LEADER approach —focuses on the conservation, awareness-raising, and dissemination of the area's geological heritage, while always maintaining a sustainable model:

• Preserve the Geopark territory.
• To enhance the natural and cultural resources of the three regions.
• Promote geological heritage.
• Highlight its importance as an educational tool .

Lines of action

In order to pursue these objectives, several challenges are posed. As required by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) , these challenges must be developed from the GALs, followed by cooperation with national or regional institutions, as well as with the scientific community. The main local actions planned are:

• Improve road accessibility by connecting towns and converting them into scenic routes.
• New architectural elements such as natural viewpoints.
• Enhance tourist interest with information panels on geography, fauna, flora, and archaeological, geological, and social wealth.
• Promote educational value by creating a platform that encourages collaboration among the local population.

Background

UNESCO established a declaration establishing the Global Geoparks Network (GGN) and the guidelines that these areas must meet in order to be considered as such:

• Have a geological heritage that serves as a guiding principle.
• Undertake initiatives to preserve and disseminate this territory.
• That promote socioeconomic and cultural development at the local level.

Financing and components

The project is part of the LEADER program, corresponding to submeasure 19.3 of the Andalusian Rural Development Program 2014-2022, funded by the EAFRD and the Andalusian Regional Government. The main promoters of the Geopark, along with public agencies, are the following Local Action Groups:

• Guadalhorce Valley
• Guadalteba
• Sierra de las Nieves and Serranía de Ronda