Posted
on this web site August 2008
preparing an inventory and
framework for the Global Inventory of the IUGS
E. B. JOYCE
School of Earth Sciences, The
University of Melbourne VIC 3010 Australia
ebj@unimelb.edu.au
Abstract
A new inventory of
geological and geomorphological sites for the continent of Australia under
preparation will cover key sites and terrains on the Australian mainland,
Tasmania, and Australian territories and islands. The inventory will based on
reports by the Geological Society of Australia, on an early listing based on
these publications by Cochrane & Joyce (1986), a short list prepared for
GILGES & UNESCO by Joyce (1991), a further GILGES list published in Cowie
(1992), discussions in Joyce (1994a, 1994b, and 1995b), the Australian Heritage
CommissionÕs Register of the National Estate, and most recently an independent
review by Yeates (2001a & b) of all earlier published work.
Initially
interested parties will be consulted to help define framework elements for
Australian Geosites. The Geological Society of Australia and the Australian
Heritage Commission will have a major involvement, with many sites geological
sites already listed on the Register of the National Estate. Other groups to be
consulted include the national governmentÕs geological survey, state government
geological surveys and departments of environment and conservation, including
the active forestry groups in Tasmania, and the national governmentÕs World
Heritage section. This procedure will lead to the final selection and listing of
Geosites for Australia.
Keywords:
Geosites;
inventory; framework; consultation, Australia.
A new
inventory of geological and geomorphological sites for the continent of Australia
covers key sites and terrains on the Australian mainland, Tasmania, and
Australian territories and islands. The inventory is based on earlier listings
by Cochrane & Joyce (1986), a list for UNESCO (Joyce 1991), and a review
for the Australian Heritage Commission by Yeates (2001a & b).
Australia
has a coastline of around 32,000 km, with varying rock types and structure,
coastal types and climate. Special and representative coastal sites form a
significant part of the Australian inventory. Major terrains include inland
deserts (Simpson Desert dunefield), northern tropical savannah (Kakadu World
Heritage Region), glacial and periglacial uplands in the south (Tasmania),
broad inland riverine plains (Murray Basin), and the young volcanic province of
southeastern Australia. There are also karst and cave sites (the Nullarbor
Plain), and many palaeoweathering landforms in central Australia, as well as
representative stratigraphic sites, rock and mineral sites, and structural and
tectonic sites. Viewpoints are also included, and sites related to the history
of geology (e.g. Charles Darwin and the Blue Mountains of NSW). Important
fossil sites range from the Proterozoic stromatolites of the Pilbara of
northwestern Australia to the World Heritage Tertiary mammal fossils of
Riversleigh and Naracoorte.
Geosites
The Geosites
program began in 1996, operating under the IUGS until 2004 (Dingwall et al.
2005) to develop an international database from a systematic inventory of the
worldÕs geological resources. The primary objective of the program is to
provide a factual basis to support national and international initiatives to
protect geological resources for research and education. An intended end-use of
the database is also to provide advice to the IUGS, and other bodies such as
UNESCO, on priorities for conservation of geological sites in a global context
(Dingwall et al. 2005) and so is of potential benefit to the World Heritage
Program.
Geosites
(sometimes referred to as Global Geosites) rely on a systematic inventory of
geological phenomena. Individual countries are encouraged to adopt their own
stratigraphic, tectonic, or other frameworks for this
purpose. Geosites is developing overarching criteria and principles
to guide the objective selection of the best geological sites for the
international database.
Key criteria
are Representativeness, Uniqueness, Suitability for correlation, Complexity and
geodiversity, Degree of research/study, Site availability and potential.
Rather than
using rigid classification systems, Geosites places emphasis on the development
of thematic frameworks that enable sites to be selected as
evidence of major geological events or processes (see later examples in
discussion on themes in Australian heritage work).
The term
ÒGeositeÓ began to appear in publications of the early 1990s. For example,
Cowie & Wimbledon (1994), in the book of the Malvern International
Conference of 1993, discuss the compilation of sites for the Global Indicative
List of Geological Sites (GILGES), which was developed for UNESCO and ICSU by
Cowie and others, beginning in 1990 (see Cowie 1992). Although the term
ÒGeositeÓ itself is curiously not listed in the index to the Malvern conference
book, Cowie & Wimbledon use the term (p.71) in their explanation of the
connection between GILGES and the then new IUGS GEOSITES database.
A general
discussion of the term Geosite is given by Reynard (2004). He gives as synonyms
geotopes, Earth science sites, and geoscience sites. He defines geosites as
Òportions of the geosphere that present a particular importance for the
comprehension of Earth historyÓ.
An IUGS
Global Geosites Working Group (GGWG) was set up by the International Union of
Geological Sciences, with the following terms of reference (Wimbledon 1999):
á To
compile the Global Geosites list
á To
construct the Geosites database of key sites and terrains.
á To
use the Geosites inventory to further the cause of geoconservation and thus
support geological science in all its forms.
á To
support regional and or national initiatives aiming to compile comparative
inventories.
á To
participate in and support meetings and workshops that examine site selection
criteria, selection methods or conservation of key sites.
á To
assess the scientific merits of sites in collaboration with specialists,
research groups, associations, commissions, subcommissions etc.
á To
advise IUGS and UNESCO on the priorities for conservation in the global
context, including World Heritage.
Wimbledon
(1999) in his Appendix 1 provides the draft format for the Global GEOSITE
Inventory and Database (as at October 1997) and outlines the suggested
procedure for an individual country to follow:
á Create
a network of informants in countries
á Definition
of regional/time Frameworks
á National
provisional Geosite selections
á Regional
comparisons and finalisation
á Country
selection of a WH indicative list of regional Geosite lists
á Acceptance
by GGWG
á Proposal
of WH sites by countries
Cleal et al.
(1999) discusses the GEOSITES methodology, using examples from Great Britain.
Most
recently the promotion of Global Geosites by UNESCO has waned, and support is
no longer provided, and it has now been left to interested countries or groups
to continue this work if they so desire.
Nevertheless,
for Australia it is seen as important to have an agreed listing of major
geological sites, whether these are called Geosites or by some other name, and
at a time when national Australian government support for such heritage work is
weakening, the Geological Society of Australia, as the major worker in this
field for over 30 years, is the body best placed to carry out this task.
Australia is commonly known as the oldest continent. Zircons
dated between 4300 and 4200 million years have been found in the Archean rocks
of the Mt Narryer area of Western Australia, and the microfossils and
stromatolites of the Pilbara, also in WA, are amongst the earliest known life
on earth. The old shield which
forms a major part of the Australian continent is largely a flat and low-lying
plateau, tectonically quiet and with one of the lowest erosion rates known.
Deep weathering profiles dating to the Mesozoic and even earlier have survived
over long period of geological time, as have the corresponding ancient landscapes
(Joyce 1999).
This
contrasts with the northern hemisphere continents, where late-Tertiary and
Quaternary uplift and extensive glacial erosion has given a very different
landscape. Only in Tasmania and the higher parts of the southeastern Australia
mainland can landscapes similar to those of Europe be found.
The study
of geological heritage in the former Gondwana continents such as Africa, South
America, India and Australia may need a different approach to that used
elsewhere (Joyce 1999).
Geological heritage studies in Australia go back over 30
years to the first work by local Geological Society of Australia (GSA) groups
in Queensland and South Australia. Earlier individual efforts were put into
setting up notice boards and signs on individual sites. In the mid-1960s
Divisions of the Society (corresponding to the Australian states &
territories) organised Subcommittees of interested geologists and began a
program of seeking out and promoting individual sites. Correspondence and
visits to the UK by Maud McBriar of South Australia and other workers helped
provide new ideas. In the mid-1970s, with the aid of government grants,
programs of identifying, documenting, evaluating and recommending management of
sites began across Australia (Joyce 1994c).
Reviews of Australian work are available in papers
from two international conferences, the first held at Digne in France in 1991
(McBriar & Hasenohr 1994) and the second at Malvern U.K. in 1993 (Joyce
1994a).
The growth of geological heritage work in Australia
By the 1970s each Division had an active Subcommittee, with
work being carried out in each of the six states and also the Australian
Capital Territory (ACT) and Northern Territory (NT).
The establishment of the National Estate Grants Program in
1973 and the Australian Heritage Commission (AHC) in 1975 provided the first of
a long series of government grants for the study of features of Australia's
National Estate, and nomination of these to the newly established Register of the
National Estate. Grants totalling more than $320,000 over the subsequent 25
years have resulted in more than 25 substantial volumes of documentation.
The state-based Subcommittees developed their own approaches
to heritage studies. Some produced
overall inventories in one volume while other systematically worked across
their state producing a series of volumes. Some volumes were printed in
hundreds of copies and distributed and sold widely, while others were only in a
few reference copies, as in South Australia, but with photocopies of
appropriate sections sent to selected state government and local government
bodies. Some Subcommittees have made many nominations to the Register of the
National Estate in Canberra, while others have made few. Where state Registers
are available, they have sometimes also been used to register geological sites.
Booklets on local geology within states, which have included heritage
information, have also been produced in Queensland.
A Standing Committee of the GSA was established in
1974 to help with the exchange of ideas between the seven subcommittees
operating at that time —Queensland, NSW, ACT (with NT), Victoria,
Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia. The recent formation of a new
Division in the Northern Territory and so a new Subcommittee will bring the
total of Subcommittees to eight.
In 1992 a policy was prepared by the Society which laid down
future plans for the Standing CommitteeÕs work, and also clarified the
SocietyÕs role in relationship to World Heritage activities. The Standing
Committee through its convener is responsible for providing advice to the
Executive or Council of the Society in response to requests on World Heritage
matters from the Australian Government. The main objective of the Standing
Committee for Geological Heritage is to promote the understanding and
conservation of the geological heritage of Australia. The history of the
Standing Committee has been reviewed by Joyce (1994c).
Techniques
used in geological studies in Australia
Techniques developed by the Nature Conservancy
Commission in the UK were an important influence on GSA work in Australia. GSA
subcommittees in each state of Australia initially developed methods of
determining the significance of a site independently. Methods of assessing
significance, from local or regional to national or international level, were
also developed for the Register of the National Estate by the Australian
Heritage Commission, and these built on some of the expertise of the GSA
subcommittees in its approach to the assessment of geological features. The AHC
approach to the classification and assessment of natural sites, using a
detailed set of criteria, in turn exerted its influence on Society work.
Each Australian state and territory also looked to
some extent at work going on in other parts of Australia, and in two workshops
in 1982 and 1984 discussions were held between the Subcommittees in an attempt
to achieve some degree of uniformity. However states and territories continued
largely to follow their own methods.
A consolidated list of Australian sites of
International and National significance, drawn from published and unpublished
Subcommittee documentation, was published in 1986 (Cochrane & Joyce 1986).
The SocietyÕs statement on policy in 1992 included the
recommended use of the term Significant Geological Feature, and the definition given was:
ÒSignificant geological features are those features of
special scientific or educational value which form the essential basis of
geological education, research and reference. These features are considered by
the geological community to be worthy of protection and preservation.Ó
This definition emphasises the two-fold use of
features in education, and for scientific research and as reference sites, e.g.
type localities and sections.
A review of the work of the GSA and the AHC in
assessing the significance of geological heritage sites in Australia, from the
local level to World Heritage, was published in 1994 (Joyce 1994b).
A grant from the AHC enabled the GSAÕs Standing Committee
members and other interested heritage workers to meet at two workshops in
Canberra and prepare a two-volume methodology report, which will assist with
future geological heritage work in Australia. The assessment volume (Joyce
1995a) was prepared in limited numbers, but its contents are available on disk
and may be consulted also via the Web (see Web site in the reference list). The
report includes a review of geological heritage methodologies used in Australia
and overseas (Joyce 1995b), and a list of heritage publications by the Society.
The result of the Geological Society of AustraliaÕs work is
that Australia has for many years been recognised internationally as a leader
in the field of geological conservation.
Heritage Registers
The Australian Heritage Commission was set up by the
government of Australia in 1975. Among other things the Commission is to
compile a Register of the National Estate. This is to include places of
natural, historic and Aboriginal heritage which should be kept for present and
future generations. The SocietyÕs Subcommittees are regarded by the AHC as
expert nominators to the Register of the National Estate. Several states also
have heritage registers. In South Australia natural sites including geological
sites can be listed on the State Heritage Register, but in Victoria the
register grew out of an historic buildings register, to which only
archaeological sites and shipwrecks have been added so far.
The National Trust of Australia consists of largely
independent organisations in each state and while mainly concerned with
historic buildings and related heritage such as gardens, they often also study
and classify landscapes, including geological aspects, and include these on their
registers.
Some
other government-sponsored geological heritage studies
A major Victorian government sponsored study by Davey
& White (1986) discussed the evaluation of the significance of caves and
karst. Work at state government level includes consultant projects such as
those of Rosengren in Victoria, including his recent study on the Late
Cainozoic basaltic eruption points of Victoria (see Rosengren 1994) carried out
with the GSAÕs Victorian Subcommittee and the National Trust of Australia
(Victoria). A methodology to include geomorphological and soil features has
been developed in the Forestry, and Parks and Wildlife agencies of the
Tasmanian government (Dixon, Houshold, & Pemberton, 1997).
The
Australian Natural Heritage Charter 1996 funded by the AHC was based in part on
the Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter of 1992 which provided guidelines for places with both natural
and cultural values. The Natural Charter provides standards and principles for
the conservation of places of natural heritage significance. A Natural Heritage
Places handbook published in 1998 provides further assistance in applying the
Charter to determine significance and prepare conservation and management
plans.
National Parks in each state and in the territories provide
valuable protection and management for many geological heritage sites; often
the initial impetus for setting up such parks has been their geological features
and landscape values. National Park status is also used to provide management
of AustraliaÕs numerous World Heritage areas, many of which are of geological
and landscape significance e.g. the Riversleigh and Naracoorte fossil areas.
Other reserves which provide some protection for geological
sites include road reserves, water reserves, state flora & fauna reserves,
and in Victoria, for example, the small geological sites set up by the state
Land Conservation Council.
However, few parks services employ or work with geologists,
and management and interpretation is strongly biased towards biological and
ecological aspects. Geological research including sampling is restricted in
National Parks, and new geological work by exploration or mining companies is
usually banned. There have been significant problems of management in World
Heritage areas such as the Willandra Lakes, and many National Parks are poorly
funded and interpreted.
The future of geological heritage work in Australia
á There
is a need to review and update past state and national work on reports and
files, now often 20 or more years old. This is particularly important when
planning issues arise; documentation must be able to stand up to close
scrutiny.
á Future
lack of national funding – new sources of funding must be found if work
is to continue, and Australian workers must increasingly look to state or even
local sources of support.
á As
the Australian government continues its current program of devolving
responsibilities to the states, heritage workers must increase cooperation with
the states & begin using state registers.
á World
Heritage listing in Australia continues to grow, with the Blue Mountains in NSW
a recent nomination. Australian geologists must play their part in seeing
geological heritage is fairly treated in current and new World heritage areas.
A number of
listings of Australian geological heritage sites have been prepared.
1. In
1986 a summary based on the work of the GSA at State levels was prepared for
the AHC (Cochrane & Joyce 1986). This was the first report to list sites of
International, National, Regional and Local Significance for all of Australia
(see Table 1).
2. In
1991 a short list of sites of possible International or World Heritage
significance was prepared for the GILGES meeting in Paris in February 1991
(Joyce 1991). Following discussion at that meeting, a revised list of 16 sites
for Australia appeared in the report by Cowie (1992) (see Table 2).
A
discussion of these lists appeared in a paper published after the Malvern
Conference of 1993 (Joyce 1994a) (see Table 3).
3. Current World
Heritage listings of geological sites in Australia appear in Dingwall et al.
(2005) (see Table 4).
4. The
Australian Heritage Commission commissioned an independent review of geological
heritage sites in Australia, considering all published material, and a two
volume report appeared in 2001, covering rocks and landforms (Volume 1) and
fossils (Volume 2) - see Yeates (2001a, b) and Table 5.
In summary,
the various documents on the listings of geological heritage sites in Australia
indicate a total of xx sites, divided approximately into xx rock, mineral and
stratigraphic sites, xx fossil sites, and xx landform and process sites (see
Table x).
Comments by
Yeates (2001a, b) suggest the current listings will need an additional xx sites
to approach a level of completeness. In particular, xx further fossil sites may
be needed, and xx further landform and process sites, particularly coastal,
tropical savannah, and weathering (regolith) sites.
The planned
new Geosites program begins a process in which interested parties will be
consulted to help define framework elements for Australian Geosites. The
Geological Society and the Australian Heritage Commission have been the main
bodies concerned with geological heritage in the past, and some thirty reports
have been prepared, covering most parts of Australia. Several overall listings
have also been prepared. Many sites have been listed on the national Register
of the National Estate maintained by the AHC.
The
independent review for the AHC of geological heritage sites in Australia in
2001, covering rocks and landforms (Volume 1) and fossils (Volume 2) - see
Yeates (2001a, b) will provide a starting point for the new Geosites program.
As well as the GSA, and
the AHC, other groups to be consulted include the national governmentÕs
geological survey, state government geological surveys and departments of
environment and conservation, including the active forestry groups in Tasmania,
and the national governmentÕs World Heritage section.
A new framework will be developed, appropriate for
the geological history and features of Australia, to guide the study, as
described in Wimbledon (1999) and Dingwall et al. (2005).
A set of
Geosites will then be prepared for Australia. With successive reviews and
consultation, additional sites may then have to be added and others deleted to
complete the final definitive listing.
This listing
will be of significant value to geological heritage work in Australia, and will
justify the work involved. The results will also be communicated to IUGS and
UNESCO as part of the priorities for conservation in the global context,
including World Heritage.
The URL is:
http://vic.gsa.org.au/geositesofaustralia.html
References
Cleal, C.J., Thomas, B.A., Bevins, R.E. & Wimbledon,
W.A.P. 1999. GEOSITES – an international geoconservation initiative.
Geology Today, March-April 1999, pp. 64-68.
Cochrane,
R.M. and Joyce, E.B., 1986. Geological Features of National and International
Significance in Australia. A report prepared for the Australian Heritage
Commission, May, 1986. Federal Committee for Geological Monuments, Geological
Society of Australia Inc.
Cowie,
J.W., 1992. Report of Task Force Meeting, Paris, France, February 1991. UNESCO
World Heritage Convention, Working Group on Geological (inc. Fossil) Sites,
IUGS Secretariat, Norway.
Cowie, J.W. & Wimbledon, W.A.P., 1994. The World
Heritage List and its relevance to geology, In OÕHalloran, D., Green, C., Harley, M., Stanley, M. and
Knill, J. (eds), Geological and Landscape Conservation, Geological Society, London,
pp.71-73.
Davey, A.G. & White,
S.1986. Victorian Caves and Karst: Strategies for Management and Cataloguing. A
report to the Caves Classification Committee, Department of Conservation,
Forests and Lands, Victoria, 315pp.
Dingwall, P., Weighell, T. & Badman, T., 2005. GEOLOGICAL WORLD
HERITAGE: A GLOBAL FRAMEWORK, A Contribution to the Global Theme Study of World
Heritage Natural Sites, Protected Area Programme, IUCN, 51pp.
Dixon, G., Houshold, I.
& Pemberton, M. 1997. Geoconservation in Tasmania – Wizards of Oz!
Earth Heritage, 8, pp.14-15.
Joyce,
E.B. 1991 Pacific and Antarctic areas, World Heritage List, Geological Sites.
Unpublished document prepared for the Meeting of the World Heritage Working
Group Task Force on a Global Inventory of Geological and Fossil Sites held in
Paris, 11-13 February, 1991. 10pp. and 2 maps.
Joyce,
E.B., 1994a. Keynote
address—Identifying geological features of international significance:
the Pacific Way. In OÕHalloran, D., Green, C., Harley, M., Stanley, M. &
Knill, J. (eds), Geological and Landscape Conservation, Geological Society,
London, pp. 507-513.
Joyce, E.B.
1994b. Assessing the significance
of geological heritage sites: from the local level to world heritage.
Proceedings of the 1st International Symposium on the Conservation of Our
Geological Heritage, Digne les Bains, 11-16 June 1991. MŽmoires de la SociŽtŽ
gŽologique de France, n.s.165, 37-43.
Joyce, E.B.
1994c. Geological Heritage
Committee. In Cooper, B.J. and Branagan, D.F. (eds) Rock Me Hard... Rock Me
Soft... A History of the Geological Society of Australia Incorporated.
Geological Society of Australia, Sydney, pp.30-36.
Joyce, E.
B. 1995a. Assessing the
Significance of Geological
Heritage: A methodology study for the Australian Heritage Commission. A report prepared for the Australian
Heritage Commission by the Standing Committee for Geological Heritage of the
Geological Society of Australia Inc.19pp.
Joyce, E. B. 1995b. A review of geological heritage
methodologies, with a bibliography of publications and reports on the
methodology of geological heritage in Australia and overseas, in Joyce, E. B.
Assessing the Significance of Geological Heritage: A methodology study for the
Australian Heritage Commission. A
report prepared for the Australian Heritage Commission by the Standing
Committee for Geological Heritage of the Geological Society of Australia Inc.
pp. A1.1-A1.23. (Available on web at URL: xx).
Joyce,
Bernie. 1999. Different thinking: The oldest continent. Earth Heritage 12:
pp.11-13.
McBriar,
E.M. & Hasenohr, P. 1994. Australian initiatives in earth science
conservation. Proceedings of the 1st International Symposium on the
Conservation of Our Geological Heritage, Digne les Bains, 11-16 June 1991.
MŽmoires de la SociŽtŽ gŽologique de France, n.s. 165, pp.75-79.
Reynard, E. 2004. Geosite, in Goudie, A. (editor),
Encyclopedia of Geomorphology, London, Routledge, pp.440.
Rosengren, N. 1994. Eruption Points of the Newer Volcanics
Province of Victoria. National Trust of Australia (Victoria) & Geological
Society of Australia (Victorian Division), 387pp.
Wimbledon,
W.A.P. 1999. Geosites - an IUGS initiative: science supported by conservation.
Geoitalia 4, pp.40-43.
Wimbledon, W.A.P. 1999. GEOSITES – an International
Union of Geological Sciences initiative to conserve our geological heritage, in
Alexandrowicz, Z. (editor) Representative Geosites of central Europe,
Proceedings of the Central Europe Working Group Workshop ProGeoÕ97, Poland,
Krakow, October 14-17, 1997. Polish Geological Institute Special Papers, 2,
1999. pp.5-8.
Yeates, A.
N. 2001a. An assessment of progress made towards the nomination of Australian
geological sites having National or International significance. Volume 1: rocks
and landforms. Report for the Australian Heritage Commission, 341pp.
Yeates, A.
N. 2001b. An assessment of progress made towards the nomination of Australian
geological sites having National or
International significance. Volume 2: fossils. Report for the Australian
Heritage Commission, 182pp.
Table 1:
Summary of listing in Cochrane & Joyce (1986).
Table 2:
Global Indicative List of Geological Sites (GILGES) for Australia, Paris 1991
(Cowie 1992).
Table 3:
Number of sites of international significance for Australia, as suggested in
Joyce 1994a).
Table 4: Current World
Heritage listing for Australia (Dingwall et al. (2005).
Table 5:
Listings in Yeates (2001a, b)
(8 to be
selected from 22 listed below)
Cochrane
& Joyce 1986 cover
Rosengren
1994 cover
The well-illustrated government-sponsored colour leaflet for
tourist use, promoting the Volcanoes Discovery Trail in Western Victoria and
adjacent South Australia.
The new roadside interpretive sign above the Byaduk valley
lava flow of late Quaternary age, with Mt Napier lava shield and scoria cones
on the skyline.
Leaflet on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia.
Methodology book cover.
Members of
the GSA Standing Committee for Geological Heritage 2002
Ediacaran
stamps
Hamelin
Pool (Shark Bay WH area) Stromatolite
Pilbara
stromatolites
Nullarbor
Plain karst and caves, ocean cliffs
Dunes
(desert, Eucla?)
Twelve
Apostles
Noorlangie Rock, Kakadu, looking north to the floodplain of
the South Alligator River, with the escarpment of Proterozoic sandstone at the
edge of the Arnhem Land Plateau to the right; the type of site now also
considered important for its geological
Regolith at
Coober Pedy or ? from the air -
colour.
A Tasmanian Quaternary glacial erratic.
Mungo lake and lunette – World Heritage, NSW.
Bungle Bungles, WA.
Lake Tyrrell aerial view.
Fossils at Riversleigh.
SelwynÕs Pavement - Permian (Gondwana) glacials, SA.
Viewpoint/historic
site e.g. Blue Mountains