El valor del patrimonio geológico1, fundamentos y significado

Abstract

Geoheritage conservation requires correct classification, appropriate valuing, and efficient management of the geological elements under consideration. We herein develop several fundamental ideas on geoheritage value, in an attempt to systematise concepts, so that, through better understanding their significance, the use of these concepts may be easier and more direct. Geoheritage studies must consider (a) an objective part, the abiotic natural elements, and (b) a subjective part, the value assigned to those elements. Due to its being abstract and debatable, the value depends on the cultural and socio-economic context of whoever does the assessment, and thus is underpinned by the set of beliefs and values currently valid at each historical moment and for each human group. The relationship between those two parts (element and value) is proportional (Ht = Et x V) and fundamental for a correct management towards geoconservation. We also analyse the relation between value and interest (V = ∑i), and consider several examples of the different types of interest.