Unresolved controversy over Czech Bohemian paradise gems: UNESCO withdraws geopark certification

(Central News Agency reporter Liu Yuting, Prague, 7th) The Bohemian Paradise Geopark in the Czech Republic, known for its unique rock landscape, will lose the UNESCO Global Geopark certification it has held since 2015 at the end of this year. The Geopark failed to convince the UNESCO Board of Directors that the dispute over the sale of gemstones of unknown origin had been properly resolved, and it was therefore delisted.

Bohemian Paradise Geopark (Geopark Český ráj) is located in the northeastern part of the Czech Republic. It has spectacular sandstone rocks, ancient volcanoes, gemstone deposits, caves and historical monuments, covering an area of ​​833 square kilometers.

Due to its extremely precious natural and landscape value, the area was included in the European Geoparks Network in 2005, and in 2015 it became the only geopark in the Czech Republic included in the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network.

The Czech News Agency (ČTK) reported that the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council decided at a meeting on the 3rd to remove the Bohemian Paradise in the Czech Republic.

Bohemian Paradise received a "yellow card" from UNESCO in 2024, requiring it to terminate cooperation with organizations selling gems of unknown origin and was given two years to resolve related issues.

According to some sources, the local Turnov museum sells such gems, but the museum has repeatedly denied this. Bohemian Paradise Geopark's decision to terminate its partnership with the museum was not approved by the Global Geoparks Council.

Jana Lebedová, director of the Bohemian Paradise Geopark, said: "The ideal situation for them is that we can force the museum to stop the sale of such gems. They also have concerns about another thing: although these sales are in compliance with Czech law, the rough stones sold locally do not even come from our Geopark. Therefore, from their point of view, the problem is more serious, because these raw materials are imported from outside."

Lebedova was disappointed with the council's decision. She said that although the Geopark was not involved in the relevant sales activities and had proven that there was no cooperative relationship between the two parties and that cooperation was impossible, it still failed to change the council's decision.

Lebedova said: "They may be looking at this matter based on past records. We have received yellow cards for this problem more than once, but we have never been able to completely solve it, so this time they decided to give us a red card directly."