Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Unesco status under threat for Highland geopark due to funding shortfall

A photograph of Gail Ross MSP at the Rockstop in Unapool
A photograph of Gail Ross MSP at the Rockstop in Unapool

It is one of the most prestigious titles that can be bestowed on the landscape.

But the Unesco Global Geopark status of a special part of the Highlands is under threat due to a £70,000 funding gap.

North West Highlands Geopark promotes the unique geology of the area for locals and tourists, but depends on the money to retain its staff.

Without staff, projects such as the upgrading of the exhibition, making a guidebook and running guided walks will be forced to stop, threatening its Unesco status which was granted in November 2015.

An urgent fundraising campaign, Love the Geopark, has now been launched to try and save it – but only £240 has been raised after a week.

The Unesco Geopark initiative started in 1998 to recognise the opportunity for remote communities to take pride in their landscape and promote it for tourism. Geoparks are set up by a local community to manage geological sites and landscapes with the Geopark approach of protection, education and sustainable development.

Since 2013, the geopark has received £248,00 funding from the Scottish Government, but this stopped at the end of March based on a prior understanding that the geopark would become financially sustainable.

But North West Highlands Geopark group chairman, councillor George Farlow, says it is very “difficult to be sustainable” in such a sparsely populated area in which fundraising is essential.

He added: “I appreciate they can not fund everybody at this time, but we are Unesco designation and I would have thought they would want to support Unesco for its sustainable goals.

“It’s really worthwhile. We deliver education, science and culture and it raises the profile of Scotland and Sutherland and people should buy into that.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The last award in 2015 was made on the basis that the geopark was working to become sustainable and financially viable and that further core funding should not be expected. Unfortunately, the geopark has not been successful in developing a sustainable financial model.

“We hope that the geopark will continue to work with partners and Unesco while they pursue other funding avenues.”

Gail Ross, SNP MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross-shire, said: “The geopark’s drive is not only to promote the area in terms of its geology but also encourages all visitors to be good stewards of our natural and cultural resources and strengthens the links that this remote area has with the rest of the world.

“The bottom line is that time is now critical for the geopark, funding must be found, and fast, to ensure that the staff, who live and are bringing up their families in the park can be retained.”

To donate, visit

http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/love-the-geopark