Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
a need to allow research for the advancement of science,
industry and the understanding of natural processes and
their effects on people,
addition, geoheritage values were extended to include
intrinsic and cultural values.
In 1991, the Nature Conservancy Council became
responsible for the natural heritage in England only, and was
renamed English Nature. It reviewed the whole approach to
wildlife and geoconservation, and developed a new inte-
grated approach to conservation and land management
a need for naturally occurring Earth heritage sites to train
Earth scientists and to provide teaching facilities for
schools, and
a need to maintain naturally occurring Earth heritage sites
as part of our natural landscape, and in doing so aid
greater awareness of natural beauty and natural systems.
The six objectives of the Nature Conservancy Council
strategy are:
1. maintaining the SSSI network,
2. extending the Regionally Important Geological/Geo-
morphologic Sites,
3. developing new conservation techniques,
4. improving the documentation of sites,
5. increasing public awareness, and
6. developing international links.
In addition, the strategy identi
—
the
“
. In this approach, the assessment,
conservation and planning process recognises that there is a
link between the underlying geology and soils, and the
expression of natural vegetation types and fauna, as well as
the intrinsic values of geoheritage (Duff
1994
). Further, in
1991, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) was
formed by enactment of the
Environmental Protection Act
1990
and the
Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991
. The
Nature Conservancy Council was abolished and effectively
split into three separate country-based organisations, i.e.,
English Nature, Scottish Natural Heritage, and Countryside
Council for Wales. The JNCC became the forum through
which the three conservation agencies in England, Scotland
and Wales delivered their statutory responsibilities for the
British Isles.
Finally, 1991 also saw the heritage values of sites of
geoheritage signi
Natural Areas approach
”
es the government and
non-government bodies most able to take an active role in
managing the ongoing conservation objectives for a partic-
ular site, and provides the framework for fostering the
effectiveness of local groups in the conservation of sites not
afforded legal protection, i.e., that are of great interest and
local importance which do not meet selection criteria but
which are worthy of protection from damage and loss (Doyle
et al.
1994
). The strategy effectively became the guidebook
to geoconservation in Britain.
cance and the importance of conserving
them under the GCR summarised under six themes (Ellis et al.
1996
). These themes were selected according to de
ned
methods with principles of site selection, and site selection
criteria, thus providing for the
rst time globally, a set of
geoheritage themes, methods and criteria that should be
considered in selecting sites of signi
cance for conservation
and land management (Tables
1
and
2
), with detailed exam-
ples within the theme of Stratigraphy presented in Table
3
.
While the list in Table
2
captures the large majority of
sites that would have geoheritage signi
3.4
Phase IV (Mid-1990s
-
2006)
The fourth phase was the re
ning of legislation, the revision
of the classi
cation and site selection, and development of
management plans for sites at all
cance in British
Isles, in fact, it can also be applied globally.
In the period 1991
levels of
“
geoheritage
signi
cance
within a whole-of-government and integrated framework. In
cance
”
, i.e., from international to local signi
1992, Nature Conservancy Council/
English Nature produced a series of educational lea
-
ets on
Table 1
Geological conservation review
—
themes for heritage values
International signi
cance of earth
heritage sites
International standards where the relative age of rocks all over the world can be compared
Reference sites where rocks, minerals and fossils were
rst described
Exceptional earth heritage sites
Where a feature is exceptionally well preserved
Earth science research
Geoheritage as a resource for present and future research into the geological past. Where sites can be
visited and revisited to test old and new theories as new research techniques and new ideas are
developed
Environmental forecasting
Geoheritage as a resource for studying past earth processes and to predict how they will operate in the
future
Earth heritage sites in education and
training
Geoheritage as a resource for training geologists in the principles of geology and landscape processes
Earth heritage as a cultural and
ecological resource
Rocks, landforms and soils form the basis for landscapes and varied scenery that are highly valued by
communities and the tourism industry, one of the most important economic sectors in United
Kingdom
