Geodiversity: Valuing and Conserving Abiotic Nature

“Murray Gray’s new book is the first widely available text to bring together and analyse some of these emerging ideas….The result is a book that should be in the library of every land manager and one that is likely to lead many practicing geoscientists and quaternarists to a new view of the importance of their field for nature conservation and environmental management…  (Journal of Quaternary Science, Vol.19, No.8, December 2004) “It is strange that it is necessary to justify the importance of geodiversity…. Murray Gray does it with brilliance, not only to convince ‘non–believers’, but giving inspiration to us that have worked in geoconservation for a long time” (ProGEO News, 3 & 4, 2003) Geodiversity, Second Edition describes the value of geodiversity to society, current threats to its existence, the efforts being made to protect it from these threats, and the interrelationships between geodiversity and biodiversity,. Illustrated with global case studies throughout, the book examines traditional approaches to protecting geodiversity and the new, wider landscape management agenda now being implemented. The Second Edition of this successful textbook continues to build on the success of the first edition that remains the standard, international reference for the subject. Fully revised and updated throughout, the Second Edition now also includes new material on  geotourism and the implications of climate change for geoconservation. This book is for geologists and geomorphologists, nature conservationists, and ecologists. It also serves as an excellent reference for undergraduates taking courses in environmental management, nature conservation, applied geology and environmental science. An overall definition of geodiversity and description of the geodiversity of the planet. The value of geodiversity to society, in the context of the current paradigm  of “ecosystem services”, and a discussion on the threats to geodiversity, such as mineral extraction, urban development and river and coastal engineering, Traditional methods of of geoconservation, World Heritage Sites and Global Geoparks. New approaches for geoconservation in the wider landscape including relationships with planning and policy initiatives. A summary of geoconservation methods, a discussion of the relationship between geodiversity and biodiversity and the need for a more integrated approach to nature conservation and sustainable land management.

Preface to Second Edition vii Preface to First Edition ix Part I What is Geodiversity? 1 1 Defining Geodiversity 3 2 Geodiversity: the Global Scale 15 3 Geodiversity: the Local Scale 29 Part II Values and Threats 73 4 Valuing Geodiversity in an ‘Ecosystem Services’ Context 75 5 Threats to Geodiversity 151 Part III Geoconservation: the ‘Protected Area’ Approach 193 6 International Geoconservation: an Introduction 195 7 World Heritage Sites 219 8 Global Geoparks 237 9 National Geoconservation 255 Part IV Geoconservation: the ‘Wider Landscape’ Approach 333 10 Geoconservation in the ‘Wider Landscape’ 335 11 Geoconservation and Land–use Planning 377 12 Geoconservation and Policy 393 Part V Putting It All Together 411 13 Geodiversity and Geoconservation: an Overview 413 14 Comparing and integrating geodiversity and biodiversity 429 15 A Future for Geodiversity? 449 References 455 Index 491