MANILA — Bohol Island has been recognized as the Philippines' first Global Geopark, the United Nations' cultural agency said on Wednesday.

According to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Global Geoparks are "single, unified geographical areas where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a holistic concept of protection, education, and sustainable development."

There are currently 195 UNESCO-recognized geoparks in 48 countries.

"Two UNESCO Member States join the network: New Zealand and the Philippines," UNESCO said in a statement shared by one of the agency's press officers, Clare O'Hagan.

Bohol Island's Global Geopark status was announced during the 216th session of UNESCO's executive board, which was held in Paris, France.

The Bohol Island Geopark will soon join 17 other new geoparks in the Global Geoparks Network, it said in a Facebook post.

"The Network provides a platform for international cooperation, allowing global geoparks and aspiring geoparks to share best practices and enhance the UNESCO Global Geopark brand," the group added.

In Bohol Island's nomination along with other geoparks, UNESCO described the Philippine area as having "scenic and varied landforms and structural features."

"The Geopark features one of the six double barrier reefs in the world and the only barrier reef in Southeast Asia," it said.

"Bohol also boasts of highly diverse flora and fauna due to its dynamic geologic and tectonic history conserving endemic species through protected areas for the Dipterocarpacea family rainforest trees and animal sanctuaries."

In 2013, a group of researchers from the University of the Philippines conducted fieldwork on potential geoparks in the Philippines, according to the provincial government of Bohol. The group then identified Bohol's "geological karst and limestone landforms as a prospect."

Bohol would later become one of the 18 nominated geoparks in 2022 "for its geological significance and scientific importance."

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