[Excerto] The word "geoconservation" was probably used for the first time in Tasmania (Australia) in the beginning of the 1990s
(Sharples 1993). Sharples, a pioneer of Australian geoconservation, reports that during the period of 1993-1994, the
Forestry Commission of Tasmania prepared several reports with preliminary inventories of landforms in the state forests
of Tasmania in order to facilitate "the conservation of Earth systems ('Geoconservation')" (Sharples 1993). However,
initiatives to protect particular geological and geomorphological features started centuries before, during the seventeenth
century. The first example of the protection of geological features dates back to 1668, concerning the protection of the
Baumannshöhle cave in the Harz Mountains in Germany (Grube 1994)...info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Grube

CD Prosser

G Black

J Brilha

L Erikstad

M Gray

N Ellis

P McKeever

WAP Wimbledon

Brilha, J. B.

Universidade do Minho: RepositoriUM

1SpringerReferenceDr. José BrilhaGeoconservation, history of5 Mar 2015 04:09http://www.springerreference.com/index/chapterdbid/385487© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015Geoconservation, history ofThe word "geoconservation" was probably used for the first time in  in the beginning of the 1990sTasmania (Australia)(Sharples ). Sharples, a pioneer of Australian geoconservation, reports that during the period of 1993-1994, the1993Forestry Commission of Tasmania prepared several reports with preliminary inventories of landforms in the state forestsof Tasmania in order to facilitate "the conservation of Earth systems ('Geoconservation')" (Sharples ). However,1993initiatives to protect particular geological and geomorphological features started centuries before, during the seventeenthcentury. The first example of the protection of geological features dates back to 1668, concerning the protection of theBaumannshöhle cave in the Harz Mountains in Germany (Grube ). During the nineteenth century, Germany1994continued to protect geology, and some other countries such as Denmark, Switzerland, and Belgium initiated theprotection of certain localities, mostly for their striking geomorphological features (Erikstad ). In 1819, legal actions2008were taken to prevent impacts on the city landscape due to quarrying of stone from Salisbury Crags in Edinburgh,Scotland (Gray ). In Britain, the  stumps of "Fossil Grove" in Glasgow have been protected since their2013 Lepidodendrondiscovery in 1887; at about the same time, the "Agassiz Rock" (a striated rock surface due to the effects of the passage ofglacier ice) was also preserved in Edinburgh (Black ). The  National Park established in 1872 in the 1988 Yellowstone USAis considered the first formal . The establishment of protected areas quickly expanded to other countriesprotected areaduring the twentieth century, but most of the time geoconservation actions were not considered a priority by parkmanagers (Brilha ).2002The first public institution devoted specifically to geoconservation was perhaps the one created in Great Britain in themid-twentieth century. In 1949, the approval of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act was the first steptoward the establishment of the , the world's first statutory nonvoluntary conservation body, whichNature Conservancyincluded the conservation of geological and geomorphological features in its role (Prosser ). This initiative led to the2012first full-time professional role in geoconservation, a role filled in 1950 by an experienced geologist, W. A. Macfadyen, andheld by him for 10 years until his retirement in 1960 (Prosser ). In 1977, the Nature Conservancy established the2012Geological Conservation Review, setting the background for the implementation of geosites conservation by means of ascientific-based methodology (Wimbledon ). The aim of the Geological Conservation Review was to "assess1988systematically the scientific part of the geological heritage of Great Britain and to select for conservation those localitiesthat exceed a minimum threshold in their national (British) value to Earth science" (Ellis ). The UK played an2008important role in the establishment of the first methods aiming at the national-scale systematic inventory of geosites withscientific value. These methods were adapted in several other countries, particularly in Europe. International institutionsstarted to deal with geoconservation issues in the 1970s. The UNESCO's "Convention Concerning the Protection of theWorld Cultural and Natural Heritage" signed in Paris in 1972 was the first international effort to select sites of paramountworld importance due to their natural characteristics. Presently, ~200 sites are inscribed in the World Heritage List fortheir natural properties, and one third of them were selected mainly due to their geological significance.  is alsoUNESCOlinked to geoconservation through geoparks. Geoparks are well-defined territories with a development plan that aims atintegrating geoconservation with the preservation of local communities' . Based on the conservation ofcultural identitynatural and cultural assets and on the promotion of education and geotourism, geoparks are designed to promote thesustainable development of local populations (McKeever et al. ). A Global Network of National Geoparks (GGN) has2010been set up under the auspices of UNESCO since 2004, and it integrates today 111 geoparks from 32 countries. TheInternational Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) created the project "Global Geosites" in 1996 aiming at the inventoryof geosites with worldwide scientific importance (Wimbledon et al. ). However, this project was closed in 2003 by the1999IUGS without reaching the main goals initially expected. Since 1970, the IUGS's International Commission onStratigraphy has identified and protected global stratotypes, which are localities with world scientific relevance tounderstand the Earth's time scale (GSSP, Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point). More recently, in 2011, a newGeoheritage Task Group was created by the IUGS. The International Geographical Union (IGU) has a Commission onGeoparks since 2008 with a vision to promote the development of geoparks from a geographical perspective. TheInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has approved two resolutions in 2008 and 2012 stressing theimportance of geodiversity in nature and the need to protect geoheritage. In 2013, a new Geoheritage Specialist Groupwas created under the scope of the IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas. The European Association for theConservation of the Geological Heritage (ProGEO) was created in 1993, and it comprehends today the national groups inmost European countries (Wimbledon and Smith-Meyer ). ProGEO evolved from "the European Working Group on20122SpringerReferenceDr. José BrilhaGeoconservation, history of5 Mar 2015 04:09http://www.springerreference.com/index/chapterdbid/385487© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015Earth-Science Conservation," which was created during a workshop in Leersum (the Netherlands) in 1988. Presently,ProGEO is the most important international  concerning geoconservation and an active member of IUGS and IUCN.NGOIn 2001, the International Association of Geomorphologists created the working group "Geomorphological Sites: research,assessment and improvement" (the name was later changed to "Geomorphosites: research, protection and education").This active group has been promoting scientific events, courses, and publications, mainly dedicated to the conservationand management of geomorphological heritage.On the national level, geoconservation is being pushed forward by several types of institutions, namely, geologicalsurveys ( , Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Spain, Sweden, etc.), universities and researchAlbaniainstitutes (Bulgaria, France, Iceland, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, , Spain, Switzerland, etc.), official institutionsRomaniadedicated to nature conservation (China, Norway, Poland, Serbia, the UK, the , etc.), and  (Croatia, Portugal,USA NGOsTurkey, the UK, etc.).The last decade of the twentieth century marked the beginning of international meetings focused on geoconservation. The"First International Symposium on the Conservation of our Geological Heritage" held in Digne (France) in 1991 wasattended by over 100 specialists from more than 30 countries. This event is considered a  of internationallandmarkdiscussions on geoconservation. The proceedings of the second international conference organized in Malvern (UK) in1993 are a reference document with international impact (O'Halloran et al. ). So far, ProGEO has organized seven1994international symposia since its foundation in 1993, and the Global Geoparks Network organizes a general conferenceevery 2 years since 2004. Every 4 years, the International Geological Congress hosts geoconservation thematic sessions,at least since the 32nd convention held in Florence (Italy) in 2004.Some recent developments in geoconservation education and training are worth mentioning. The University of Minho(Portugal) offers a master's degree on geological heritage and geoconservation since 2005 (Brilha et al. ). A growing2012number of universities worldwide are offering courses on different subjects related to geoconservation, either as master orPhD studies. Summer courses joining students and experts in different areas of geoconservation are also organized inmany countries for the last decade.A  of papers on the history of geoconservation was published in 2008 by the Geological Society of Londonreference set(Burek and Prosser ). Much more information about initiatives that belong to the history of geoconservation is2008available, but it remains published in only national languages; this is an obstacle to worldwide recognition.Cross-ReferencesGeoconservation PolicyGeoconservation, Concept ofGeodiversityGeosite, Concept ofGeosites, Classification ofReferencesBlack G (1988) Geological conservation: a review of past problems and future promise. In: Crowther PR,Wimbledon WAP (eds) The use and conservation of palaeontological sites, vol 40, Special papers inpalaeontology. Palaeontological Association, London, pp 105-111Brilha J (2002) Geoconservation and protected areas. Environ Conserv 29:273-276Brilha J, Pereira D, Pereira P (2012) Geoconservation education, research and outreach: the experience of theUniversity of Minho (Portugal). Geologia dell'Ambiente, Società Italiana di Geologia Ambientale, Supplemento aln. 3/2012:191-192Burek CV, Prosser CD (eds) (2008) The history of geoconservation, vol 300, The Geological Society, London,special publication, p 312Ellis N (2008) A history of the geological conservation review. In: Burek CV, Prosser CD (eds) The history ofgeoconservation, vol 300. The Geological Society, London, pp 123-135Erikstad L (2008) History of geoconservation in Europe. In: Burek CV, Prosser CD (eds) The history ofgeoconservation, vol 300. The Geological Society, London, pp 249-256Gray M (2013) Geodiversity: valuing and conserving abiotic nature, 2nd edn. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, p 4953SpringerReferenceDr. José BrilhaGeoconservation, history of5 Mar 2015 04:09http://www.springerreference.com/index/chapterdbid/385487© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015Grube A (1994) The national park system in Germany. In: O'Halloran D, Green C, Harley M, Stanley M, Knill J(eds) Geological and landscape conservation. Geological Society, London, pp 175-180McKeever P, Zouros N, Patzak M, Weber J (2010) The UNESCO global network of national geoparks. In:Newsome D, Dowling R (eds) Geotourism: the tourism of geology and landscape. Goodfellow, Oxford, pp 221-230O'Halloran D, Green C, Harley M, Stanley M, Knill J (eds) (1994) Geological and landscape conservation.Geological Society, London, p 530Prosser CD (2012) William Archibald Macfadyen (1893-1985): the 'father of geoconservation'. Proc Geol Assoc123:182-188Sharples C (1993) A methodology for the identification of significant landforms and geological sites forgeoconservation purposes. Report to the forestry commission, Tasmania, p 31. Available at http://eprints.utas.edu.au/11747/Wimbledon WAP (1988) Palaeontological site conservation in Britain: facts, form, function, and efficacy. In:Crowther PR, Wimbledon WA (eds) The use and conservation of palaeontological sites, vol 40, Special papers inpalaeontology. Palaeontological Association, London, pp 41-55Wimbledon WAP, Smith-Meyer S (eds) (2012) Geoheritage in Europe and its conservation. ProGEO, Oslo, p 405Wimbledon WAP, Andersen S, Cleal CJ, Cowie JW, Erikstad L, Gonggrijp GP, Johansson CE, Karis LO,Suominen V (1999) Geological World Heritage: GEOSITES - a global comparative site inventory to enableprioritisation for conservation. Memorie Descrittive della Carta Geologica d'Italia 54:45-60Geoconservation, history ofDr. José Brilha Institute of Earth Sciences, Pole of the University of Minho, Braga, PortugalDOI: 10.1007/SpringerReference_385487URL: http://www.springerreference.com/index/chapterdbid/385487Part of: Encyclopedia of Mineral and Energy PolicyEditors: Günter Tiess, Tapan Majumder and Peter CameronPDF created on: March, 05, 2015 04:09© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015

Geoconservation, history of

José Brilha

Crossref

Geoconservation, History of

Geoconservation, history of

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Universidade do Minho: RepositoriUM

Crossref