The UNESCO Géoparc de Haute-Provence can be considered as the birthplace of Geoparks worldwide.
The adventure began in 1991 with the adoption of the International Declaration of the Memory of the Earth in Digne les Bains, and continued from 1997 to 2000, through a European program associating 3 European territories with the future UNESCO Géoparc de Haute-Provence : Lesvos (Greece), Vulkaneifel (Germany) and Maestrazgo (Spain). At the end of this program, and under the aegis of UNESCO, the European Geoparks Network was created, and in 2004 the Global Geopark Network (GGN) was established. Over 111 UNESCO / Geoparks exist today worldwide.