This project compares the role of UNESCO Global Geoparks in Bali and Lombok as locally embedded governance formations. While UNESCO outlines universal goals of conservation, education, and local economic development, their enactment—and the priorities attached to them—are shaped by local cultures, hazardscapes, and socio-political dynamics. Drawing on qualitative interviews and documentary analysis, the study shows that Batur Geopark (Bali) has generated new opportunities, particularly in tourism and service employment, while simultaneously marginalizing small-scale farmers and miners, restricting ritual access to land, and intensifying governance tensions between state authorities, external investors, and village communities. In contrast, Rinjani Geopark (Lombok) emerged as a key local institution in the aftermath of the 2018 earthquake, integrating geoheritage preservation with disaster risk reduction (DRR) education and community-driven resilience. Through a comparative lens, the study examines how geopark designations generate divergent governance configurations—tourism-led development in Bali versus resilience- and community-driven initiatives in Lombok—illustrating how global frameworks are reconfigured through local histories, cultural practices, and hazard contexts. The study contributes to debates in political ecology by conceptualizing geoparks as hybrid institutions situated at the intersection of conservation, tourism, and community resilience.

Authors:
Yoonhee Jung, National University of Singapore, Singapore

About the Presenter(s)
Yoonhee Jung, Senior Research Fellow, National University of Singapore. Urban sustainability, disaster studies, and Urban resiliency in the Asian context.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

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