Proposal for an inventory of geomorphological heritage in Castilla-La Mancha Region, Spain

Abstract

Geological and geomorphological heritage protection has been frequently considered a last-rate priority by organisations and governments, either within their general policy for heritage conservation or particularly within the conservation of nature. In spite of this complaint, a change of this tendency is taking place during the last few years. The growing interest for geological heritage can be seen from the definition of Geosites as a specific form of World Heritage by UNESCO. In addition, a much broader attention to this subject has been paid by the scientific community, environmental educators or the ecotourism sector. The legislation of Castilla-La Mancha Region, Spain, considers the geo(morpho)logical environment to be an important component of Nature. This is the first region in Spain that makes explicit a mandate for the protection of specific landforms. This paper describes the procedures and outcomes of a research project that constitutes the first implementation of this law, concerning the inventory of landforms from their 'natural heritage' point of view.