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Episodes 2023; 46(4): 551-562

Published online December 1, 2023

https://doi.org/10.18814/epiiugs/2023/023004

Copyright © International Union of Geological Sciences.

Methodological proposal to determine the potential of a territory to become a UNESCO Geopark: case study of Nevado del Ruiz Volcano initiative, Colombia

Lina Cifuentes-Correa1, Jefferson Quiroz-Fabra2*, Alejandro Valencia-Arias2, Wilmer Londoño-Celis1, Mauricio Hincapie1

1 Facultad de Ingeniería, Corporación Universitaria Americana, Carrera 42 No. 52-06, 050012, Medellín, Colombia
2 Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Administrativas, Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano, Carrera 76A No. 32-73, 050036, Medellín, Colombia

Correspondence to:*E-mail: jsquirozf@unal.edu.co

Received: September 3, 2022; Revised: February 11, 2023; Accepted: February 11, 2023

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

This study develops a methodology proposal to determine the territories that have the potential to become a UNESCO Geopark, considering aspects associated with the region, thus being one of the few examples of this type of methodologies that involve aspects related to the conditions of developing countries in Latin America. The methodological proposal is developed based on the consultation of several international models and official UNESCO documents; criteria associated with the territory are proposed, and quantitative instruments that allow a better evaluation are formulated. In addition to the development of a methodology, a case study is carried out to corroborate the different methodological processes proposed around an initiative for the constitution of a geopark in Colombia.