Five locations in the country will be designated national geology parks, in Mandalay Region, Shan State, Kachin State, Kayin State, and Sagaing Region, said U Than Tun of the Myanmar Geosciences Society, the head of the project.

The sites include Popa Mountain in Mandalay’s Kyaukpadaung Township, Inn Daw Gyi Lake in Kachin, Inle Lake in southern Shan, Twin Taung in Sagaing, and Mount Zwegabin in Kayin. An organising committee will announce Popa Mountain as a national geology park at the end of this year.

“We’ll start with Popa Mountain, but we’ll eventually expand the scheme to five places. We’ve already done the research. A management committee was formed for Popa Mountain’s national geology park. Most of its members are locals.

We’ve submitted a budget, but we haven’t got it yet,” U Than Tun said.

The Popa Mountain UNESCO and National Geology Park Committee was formed last month to systematically conserve natural resources around Mount Popa.

“After Popa, we will carry out the project in Bagan, because the ancient cultural heritage of Bagan is linked with the geological heritage of Popa. If we combine them in a Geo Park, they will be famous throughout the world. We are discussing this with the experts. The work will conform to the criteria of UNESCO,” U Than Tun said.

These five places named national geology parks will display geological features, buildings, fossils, ancient religious beliefs, and the lifestyles of ancient people at the site.

“There are only a few differences between qualifying as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and as a Geo Park. We can keep operating if it doesn’t affect the environment and if there are geological features. We’ve made signs to educate local people,” U Than Tun said.