Geopark plan would span border

The Mourne Mountains would be included in the geopark

A feasibility study is under way for a plan to create the first geopark to span both sides of the Irish border.

Local authorities in County Down and County Louth have commissioned a study into the proposal.

The project needs to be officially designated by Unesco.

A geopark is a territory which includes a significant geological heritage and a sustainable territorial development strategy supported by a European program to promote development.

The proposed new geopark would stretch from the Mourne Mountains, taking in Carlingford Lough, Slieve Gullian in County Armagh and several forests, including Ravensdale and Slieve Foye.

Of the existing 53 geoparks in the world, one is at the Marble Arch Caves and Cuilcagh Mountain Park in County Fermanagh and one at the Copper Coast in County Waterford.

'Different legislative regimes'

Louth County Manager Conn Murray told the Irish Times that there was "tremendous potential to further develop sustainable tourism in the east border region".

He added: "There are tremendous natural assets in this area which we must protect and present in an imaginative way."

Mr Murray said Louth and Dundalk Town Council were working with their counterparts in Newry and Mourne District Council to advance the geopark initiative.

"While each of us has clear remits and operates under different legislative regimes, there is a growing level of contact and co-operation between our local authorities on issues of mutual interest and concern."

In October 2004, a working party was established to look at the boundaries of a proposed Mourne National Park.

Earlier this year, the geopark at the Marble Arch Caves was expanded, to include another 16,000 hectares of land in west Fermanagh.

The caves were declared a geopark in 2001, the first area in the UK to be granted the status.