The exceptional scientific value of certain geodiversity elements justifies the need to implement proper measures in order to assure their conservation. Obviously, not all geodiversity elements should be envisaged for conservation. Most elements have no particular value, and a vast variety of geological resources are exploited everyday to satisfy the needs of modern societies. This means that accurate methods should be used to select exceptional sites that need to be protected and conserved, i.e., geosites. It should be noted that geological heritage (or geoheritage) encompasses in situ occurrences of notable geodiversity elements (minerals, fossils, rocks, soils, and landforms) and ex situ elements usually integrating museum collections. Their management requires different approaches based on different legal settings. While geosites protection is usually assured by nature conservation policies, museum collections fall into the category of cultural assets. The main scope of...
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Brilha, J. (2014). Geoconservation, Concept of. In: Tiess, G., Majumder, T., Cameron, P. (eds) Encyclopedia of Mineral and Energy Policy. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-40871-7_2-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-40871-7_2-1
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