Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
It was set up to act as a guardian for the nation in the acqui-
sition and protection of threatened coastlines, countryside and
buildings. Its guardianship encompasses over 248,000 ha of
countryside in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and
nearly 1,000 km of coastline. In 1912, the Society for the
Protection of Nature Reserves (now the Royal Society for
Nature Protection) was formed in recognition of the need for a
formal conservation agency for Natural Heritage. The Society
began the process of establishing a framework for a more
systematic approach for identifying sites that merited con-
servation. In 1931, the National Trust for Scotland was
founded, describing itself as
body,
nanced by and responsible to the Department of the
Environment, contributing to the development of Sites for
Scienti
c Research Series and the National Nature Reserve
Series (Ellis et al.
1996
). This was another step in recogn-
ising that geoheritage extended beyond purely
”
geology to include geomorphology. Presumably driven by
the wave of nature conservation initiatives being undertaken
at a pan-European scale (notably since the Council of Eur-
ope
“
hard rock
s Conservation Year in 1970; Brocx
2008
), the NCC,
for the
'
rst time, formalised principles that underpinned
geoconservation. The Council identi
ed land or water con-
taining plants, animals, geological features or landforms of
special interest based on the following two main principles:
“
the conservation charity that
protects and promotes Scotland
s natural and cultural heritage
for present and future generations to enjoy
'
. In 1943, the
Society for the Protection of Nature Reserves, Wildlife
Conservation Special Committee (England and Wales) was
founded to examine ways in which government could further
support the national nature protection effort. Their report,
Conservation of Nature in England and Wales
(Cmd 7122,
1947), laid the foundation of nature conservation with a twin
approach: (1) scienti
”
1. a prime duty to future generations to preserve our heritage so
that it may become theirs. This premise encompasses the
scientist
s argument that we should maintain the means to
seek knowledge in the future; and
'
2.
that conservation has direct and immediate bene
ts for
humanity
—
the health of the natural world is inextricably
linked with our own well-being and its resources underpin
every aspect of our way of life.
c activity; and (2) aesthetic and recre-
ational activity. Also, in 1943, the Nature Reserves Investi-
gation Committee (NRIC), with a geological sub-committee,
was founded. Consequently, some 390 Earth heritage sites
had been identi
Group (of the Geo-
logical Society of London) was founded to encourage a
wider appreciation of sites of regional signi
In 1974, the Geological Curators
'
cance (Doyle
et al.
1994
). In 1977, the National Scheme for Geological
Site Documentation was established with a Geological
Conservation Review (GCR) unit to provide an audit of
nationally-important Earth geological Sites of Special Sci-
enti
c
interest. This and other reports undertaken by the NRIC
contributed towards shaping post-war government policy on
geoconservation (Mason and Stanley
2001
).
In 1949, in England, the Nature Conservancy was created
by Royal Charter under the
National Parks and Access to the
Countryside Act 1949
. This Act empowered the Conser-
vancy to establish National Nature Reserves for the purpose
of nature conservation. This included conservation of geo-
logical and geomorphological features. National parks, for
the
ed as being worthy of protection for scienti
c Interest (SSSI). Selected sites were formally desig-
nated as SSSI for conservation and management (Fig.
4
).
Completed in 1988, the review led to the publication of 45
volumes of detailed site reports.
In the context of an audit of sites of geoheritage signi
-
cance, the GCR process has been a major advance in con-
servation of features of the Earth Sciences and there is no
equivalent worldwide. It became the basis of conservation in
future years using a three-stage process, i.e, 1. audit and site
selection; 2. site designation through a statutory or non-
statutory framework; and 3. site safeguard for management
and protection (Prosser et al.
2006
), thus identifying sites of
geoheritage signi
rst time, could be created.
Thus the period between 1832 and 1964 saw a prolifer-
ation of reserves and nature protection agencies, leading to
the conservation of many sites for their geoheritage values.
3.3
Phase III (1970s
-
1990s)
cance to be conserved for research, edu-
cation and training, and related
This phase saw the recognition and the development of
methods and selection criteria for inventory-based classi
such as
recreational and aesthetic appreciation (Wimbledon et al.
1995
). This procedure became the foundation of a systematic
selection process for geoconservation that was exported
from Britain to the rest of the World.
Prior to the GCR, never had so many of the Earth scientists
(over 200) been directly involved in collaborating on con-
servation issues, illustrating the depth and extent that the
professional geoscientists were interested in geoconservation.
Organisations such as the Geological Society, Geologists
“
geological leisure
”
-
cation and conservation, the foundation of organisations
(both government and non-government) to carry out the task,
the enactment of legislation to give proclaimed sites legal
protection, and the involvement of community groups in
order to select, conserve, and manage sites of scienti
c, and
of cultural heritage.
The Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) was created
under the
Nature Conservancy Council Act 1973
(the Nature
Conservancy was abolished). The NCC was a statutory
'
Association, and the Paleontological Association also
