Antara News·Indonesia·Saturday, November 14, 2026 at 04:56 AM UTC

Indonesia moves to maintain UNESCO green cards for five geoparks

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Hreeloita D, Fauzul Azhim Bin Fakhrurazi

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Tourism Ministry is working to maintain the UNESCO green card status of five Indonesian geoparks: Belitong, Merangin Jambi, Ijen, Raja Ampat, and Maros-Pangkep.

The UNESCO Global Geoparks Council affirmed their status during its 11th session in Paris, France, from Nov. 2 to 4, 2026.

The ministry noted that UNESCO's green card designation serves as an international quality guarantee that simplifies promoting the geoparks as sustainable tourist destinations.

“UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGp) status is an international standard guarantee that makes it easier to promote sustainable tourist destinations to foreign tourist source markets that care about nature and cultural preservation,” Tourism Ministry Spokesperson Nia Niscaya told ANTARA in Jakarta on Saturday.

Niscaya said UGGp status acts as a driver of regional transformation by integrating nature conservation, education, and community economic empowerment.

This approach aligns with the shift from mass tourism toward quality, sustainable travel as a foundation of the green economy under the Golden Indonesia 2045 vision, she added.

Citing the Indonesia Tourism Outlook 2026-2027 report, Niscaya said future travel trends will center on experiential journeys shaped by social media.

Experts identified five leading trends in the report: event tourism, social media influence, eco-friendly tourism, culinary and gastronomy tourism, and nature and adventure tourism.

“These five tourism trends are closely related to geopark tourism, or earth tourism, such as UGGp Bojonegoro,” Niscaya said.

Accordingly, the ministry aims to preserve the green card designations already held by Belitong, Merangin Jambi, Ijen, Raja Ampat, and Maros-Pangkep.

“The green card designation must continue to be maintained. This green card is given to areas that already hold UGGp status and successfully pass re-evaluation (revalidation) every four years without violating conservation standards,” Niscaya said.

The central government, through the Culture Ministry, the Indonesian National Committee for UNESCO (KNIU), and the Tourism Ministry, is collaborating with regional administrations and management bodies to implement the 2025-2034 Area Management Master Plan.

The plan prioritizes upgrading information facilities and visitor safety, training guides, and strengthening geopark education and research, the ministry said.

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