During the opening ceremony, Ali Rezapur said that the site, which was previously a wildlife refuge, has been renovated and well-equipped in order to provide students and also ordinary people with educational services.
“It took the experts four years to develop the geopark which is the biggest one in the Middle East. It has also been supported by UNESCO,” he noted.
Pursuant to a decision made by its Executive Board in June 2001, UNESCO has been invited "to support ad hoc efforts of the Member States to promote territories or natural parks having special geological features”. To this end, operational guidelines provide directing principles for national geoparks requesting the assistance of UNESCO and the inclusion in a global network of national geoparks. A geopark seeking UNESCO’s assistance is a territory with well-defined limits. It is run under the national legislation or regulations, which provide the legal framework for its managerial body, funding tools and logistic support.
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