GGN - Geopark Annual Report 2019
1. GEOPARK IDENTITY
Izu Peninsula UNESCO Global Geopark, (Japan, 2018, APGN)Year of inscription / Year of the last revalidation: 2018/ -Start of the 5th Izu Peninsula Geopark rogaining game

2. GEOPARK FIGURES
Number of Geopark staffs: 10 staffs including 3 geoscientists
Number of visitors: 19424 (Geopark museum visitors)
Number of Geopark events: 67
Number of school classes realize Geopark educational programs: 124
Number of Geopark press release: 82

3. GEOPARK ACTIVITIES
Major achievements in 2019

Newly organized a training course for 37 new geopark staffs involved in national geoparkorganizing bodies. Lectures were delivered by GGN/APGN council members and othergeopark specialists.

Organizing 5th rogaining game, an orienteering sport of long distance cross-territory

navigation. Participants’ number was 190.


Organizing a painting contest for elementary and secondary school pupils and students.

Organizing half-year long training courses for 31 new certified geo-guides.

Organizing variety of workshops regularly for kids and local people at the museum intending
rediscovering our own area.

Organizing five “GEO Café” and four “Science Café” events for geopark popularization.

Organizing two different level of the geopark certification tests for the aim of stimulatingpeoples’ concern on the geopark.

Special exhibition at the museum for introducing a sister geopark.

Organizing weekly seminar for the stuffs and the geo-guides on the museum closing day.

Contribution towards GGN - Networking and participation
Participation in the 6th Asia Pacific Geoparks Network (APGN) Symposium atRinjani-Lombok UGGp: providing three oral presentations those lessons from Izu Peninsula
UGGp.



Hosting two geopark specialists training course for two-week long technical transfer invitedfrom the Ciletuh-Palabuhanratu UGGp, Indonesia.

Despatching a scientist as a liaison and provided various kinds of geopark activities
feedback to the Ciletuh-Parabuhanratu UGGp. (August 2019)

Receiving the delegates from Sukabumi Regency of Indonesia and provided our own
geopark initiatives transfer.

Making an agreement of sister geopark between Ciletuh-Palabuhanratu UGGp.

Despatching a certified guides to an aspiring geopark, R. Korea for guiding implementation.

Receiving academic faculty members from Thailand and Nepal introducing geopark
activities and the technical transfer of outcrop conservation.

Japanese language translation of the leaflet of the Mount Tianzhu UGGp, P.R. China.

Despatching a staff for an evaluation mission of an aspiring geopark (June 2019) and for arevalidation of a geopark. (July 2019)

Management and Financial Status


Financial status of the geopark is stable with its operating budget for FY2019 which totals at
JPY 68,617,565.

Geoconservation
Surface peel preservations of exposures appeared on the road construction sites.
Decorated peel and educational materials were presented to the vicinity elementary school.

Upgrading and building additional interpretation panels at the sites.

Sustainable tourism (Geotourism)
Implementing the on-site regular guided tour which do not require advanced booking. Theyare; a boat tour for coastal geosite, a gold mine tour, and a waterfall tour.

315 geo-tours have been operated by geo-guides, municipalities and geopark partners withthe total participants of 29,000.

New education programs on geoconservation, sustainable development and disaster risk
reduction
Geopark educational programs provided for 71 schools in the territory.

Education working group of the geopark council has been registered as a Japanese hub for
ESD initiatives.

High-school students made geosite introduction stories stating “GEO TRAIN” runs at apartner local railway company.

Strategic partnership
Printing 16 geopark stories on the package of the local milk which is providing for school
lunch mostly in the territory. Annual production is more than 10 million by a partner
agricultural cooperative. Elderly people submitted old stories and it also can be a tool for
disintegration of the past records.

New interpretation panels were settled at the ecological sites cooperatively together with
“Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS; other UN led conservationprogram)” management body.

Promotional activities


Numerous radio-TV and newspapers interviews and articles on the Geopark’s activities in
the national, regional and local media.

Spreading geopark information using social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube)

4. CONTACTS
Manager: Prof. Dr. Katsuhiko Asahi
Geologist: Mr. Yusuke Suzuki

k.asahi@izugeopark.org

y.suzuki@izugeopark.org