Geoextour – Geoparks between protection, enhancement and mining activities

Geoparks are forms of protection negotiated by the stakeholders of the territories in which they are located. In the countries of southern Africa, where mining pressure is particularly strong, these protection tools have to deal with high economic stakes. The aim of the Geoextour project – Geoparks: tools for regulating extractivist activities, enhancing heritage and promoting tourism? is to examine these tensions, using the Gondwanaland Geopark project in Namibia as a case study.

The project covers a large area of over 40,000 km², including the Brandberg, Erongo and Spitzkoppe massifs. Characterized by remarkable landscapes and rock art sites, it is also marked by mining activities, with the extraction of semi-precious stones. For the most part, this activity is carried out by local communities, under very difficult working conditions.

Although decried by some stakeholders for damaging landscape and cultural resources, this mining activity is at the heart of the Geopark project. The latter presents it as a traditional activity to be preserved and promoted as a tourist attraction, arguing that these dynamics will have economic spin-offs for local populations.

The aim of the Géoextour project is to analyze the discourse of the various players involved in this Geopark project, at the crossroads of societal and scientific issues. It will also look at how “traditional” mining activities come into tension with other types of resources (remarkable landscapes, rock art sites). Lastly, the Géoextour project will analyze the ways in which local populations are involved and participate in the project, over and above what is merely posted.