methodology volume: Executive Summary

The Australian Heritage Commission saw the need for a systematic procedure which could be used to assess the significance of geological features proposed for the Register of the National Estate. It looked to the Geological Society of Australia as an organisation which for many years had documented and assessed geological features, and nominated many to the Register.

The new methodology was to draw on the Society’s past work, and provide a system which would be of use to the Heritage Commission, its Natural Environment Panels, and the individual subcommittees of the Society in each Australian state and territory.

In 1993 a grant was made by the Commonwealth of Australia under the 1993-94 National Component of the National Estate Grants Program to the Standing Committee for Geological Heritage, the Society’s overall body concerned with such work. The grant was used to prepare a draft document with the aid of consultants, to convene a Workshop to discuss and revise the document, and then finalise a report which detailed the new procedure.

This is the report which resulted, and which is to be used by both the Commission and the Society in future geological heritage studies.

The report is in two volumes. The main volume (this volume) is constructed around a form which is designed to be used to document, classify, and assess geological features, and assist in their nomination to the Register of the National Estate. The form is explained and its use discussed.

The form and related notes and discussions are provided also on disk to allow for future modification and adaptation by users.

Details of how the procedure was developed are explained in the report, and reviews of related work in Australia and overseas, together with other background material, are given in the appendices.

The accompanying volume by K. G. Grimes is bound separately. It provides a classification of features which may be used with the form.

Conclusions

It was agreed in discussions at the Workshop and elsewhere that a classification of geological features by type was needed, that significance was to be assessed using either the outstanding or representative approach, and with levels from local to international, and in terms of the use of the feature for education, research and reference. Assessment must, in the final stages, be against AHC Criteria, and a feature should meet or exceed a threshold of significance. The procedure presented in this report should be able to be extended to thematic or regional studies in the future.

A new form, based on the current data sheet used by the GSA Victorian Subcommittee, and the nomination sheet used by the Natural Environment Panel in Victoria, was agreed as the model for the proposed methodology report. This is called the Location-Classification-Assessment-National Estate Criteria or LCAN Form.

The discussions involved in the development of the methodology and the preparation of this report have led to a greater understanding of geological heritage work in Australia, and also developed a better understanding between the AHC, the GSA subcommittees and other groups working in this area.

The new LCAN form should provide an impetus to the development of the understanding of Australia’s geological heritage, and to the formal listing of further features on the Register of the National Estate.

Have the Original Aims and Objectives been met?

The title of the project was "Development of a classification system for geological, palaeontological and geomorphological sites for reviewing the Register of the National Estate" and the aims were:

(i) To review the current classification systems used by the Australian Heritage Commission (AHC), the Geological Society of Australia (GSA) and other relevant groups in Australia and overseas;

(ii) to develop a classification system for geological, palaeontological and geomorphological sites; and

(iii) to provide a systematic framework for assessment and listing of such places in the Register of the National Estate.

.c.Has the report achieved these aims?

• A review of current classification systems and methodologies

A review of current methodologies is given as Appendix 1 to this report, and is a revised and enlarged version of a document prepared for the Workshop. Appendix 2 is a revised version of a paper presented by Cliff Ollier at the Workshop which discusses further aspects of classification and methodology.

• A classification system for geological, palaeontological and geomorphological features

The classification system used in the LCAN form presented in this report is the result of much discussion at the Workshop, and essentially uses a single level of classification. A more detailed classification is given in Appendix 3, and in the accompanying volume by Grimes. It will be argued below that the use of the LCAN form, and of Grimes’ detailed classification, provides a systematic framework for assessing and preparing nominations to the Register of the National Estate, and also for reviewing geological and geomorphological features already on the Register.

In the Terms of Reference (Introduction to this report) a review of current and past AHC approaches to classification was requested, including a review of documents describing the typology and type profile approach. The main AHC document on typology is "Future Directions in Assessing National Estate Significance" (Australian Heritage Commission 1990c), and this is discussed in Appendix 1.

At the Workshop it was noted that the study had not been able to develop the typology approach as far as the AHC had originally suggested. It was generally agreed that a type profile approach could not be justified for geological features because of the complexity of types, and the major documentation which would have to be developed. It was also considered unlikely by the Workshop participants that type profiles would ever be accepted and used by the GSA subcommittees.

• A systematic framework for assessment and listing in the Register of the National Estate.

The LCAN form and Grimes’ classification provide a recommended formal procedure for future use by GSA subcommittees, AHC panels and others when documenting and working towards nominations to the Register of the National Estate.

The current GSA subcommittee approach, using a simple classification system as in this report, provides the best approach for future GSA and AHC work. However in the assessment of significance, the checklist approach recently used by UNESCO for fossil sites (see Appendix 1) might be usefully developed further.

• Development of a classification system for geological, palaeontological and geomorphological features for reviewing the Register of the National Estate

The AHC wishes to review features listed in the Register of the National Estate, and to identify the need for further nominations. An example of how the LCAN form and Grimes’ classification might be used in reviewing the RNE is given below:

Aim: to review VOLCANOES in the Register of the National Estate

Refer to Grimes’ volume:

Note the three aspects of VOLCANOES given:

• Rock types - see table of classification of igneous rocks

• Eruptions - see figure of types of eruptions

• Landforms - see figures showing volcanic landforms.

Procedure:

1. Decide which volcanic rock types are found in Australia

2. Consider eruption types, and correlate with rock types where possible.

3. Consider volcanic landforms, also correlating where possible with rock type and eruption type.

4. Establish the possible range of types of features.

5. Sort RNE for all features classified as "rocks & minerals" and "volcanic".

6. Check features found in the search, considering also other factors such as locality data, size of area, physical type and age recorded on the form.
7. For each feature, examine "Description", and accept or revise "Statement of significance" and level allotted.

8. Consider aspects of management on form, if appropriate.

9. Examine details of nomination, and accept or reassess Value rating recorded against each Criterion, in terms of meeting or exceeding the RNE threshold.

10. Compare and contrast nominated features, compare with list of possible features (4 above) and begin process of locating further features to add to Register, with the eventual aim of including all Outstanding features, and all Representative features meeting the threshold of significance.

It was noted at the Workshop that GSA subcommittees made many nominations to the Register, and these were sent direct to the AHC. Other nominations came from groups such as the National Trust. It was recommended by the Workshop participants that when geological features on the Register were to be reviewed the documentation should also be sent to the GSA subcommittee in the state or territory concerned for their assistance with the re-evaluation.

Recommendations

• The new LCAN form and its classification of features

The new form should be introduced into the assessment program of each GSA subcommittee, the AHC Natural Environment panels, and appropriate state government agencies.

Responses should be solicited and further group discussions encouraged, and if possible a suitable Workshop venue should be set-up to allow any revisions to be agreed.

In future assessments of significance, the checklist approach recently used by UNESCO for fossil sites (see Appendix 1) should be further developed.

• Recommended Changes to AHC Criteria details

At the Workshop participants discussed changes to the explanatory notes and listed examples covering geological aspects of AHC Criteria, as given in Criteria for the Register of the National Estate: Application Guidelines (Australian Heritage Commission 1990b), and these revisions are given as Appendix 4 of this report.

It is recommended that these alterations be incorporated into the current revision of Application Guidelines being carried out by the AHC.

• The future: Regional and Thematic approaches

Regional Assessment has been developed recently in response to concern over the logging of old growth forests. A detailed methodology suitable for such broad scale studies has not yet been developed (see discussion in Appendix 1).

Recently AHC panels have been asked to propose regions where new projects of assessment might be carried out. In future studies there will be an emphasis by the AHC on Thematic Assessment (e.g. all meteorite craters) with an interest in groups of features rather than individual features. AHC Natural Environment panels may be asked to carry out such studies, or to review regional studies done by consultants.

It is noted that the National Estate Grant Program could provide funds for regional assessment by GSA subcommittees, who might work with local AHC panels. Areas of interest might be possible World Heritage areas such as Lake Eyre, or across-border areas such as the Mallee of southeastern Australia.

A comparison may be made with the program of Geosites being sponsored by IUGS and UNESCO, as the successor to the former GILGES program of UNESCO which attempted to list all geological features of possible World Heritage significance.

The LCAN form and the classification of Grimes provide the basis for developing a methodology for Regional or Thematic assessment of geological heritage in the future.

• A future methodology for the management of geological heritage

The processes involved with the location, classification, assessment and rating of National Estate Criteria of features, as described in this report, are common to the work carried out by the AHC and the GSA.

Issues which are beyond the scope of this report include most aspects of management, such as interpretation, site maintenance and site restoration, the location and development of new sites to supplement or replace existing sites, control of sampling and collection, rehabilitation of mining and quarrying sites, and (most recently) problems arising from vegetation cover, whether natural or planted. Such studies lie outside the usual activities of both the AHC and the GSA subcommittees, although some GSA subcommittees have from time to time worked as advisers to government, public interest groups and developers on aspects of management.

However there is a growing need to develop the interpretation and management of geological heritage in Parks and reserves across Australia, not only at national and state level, but also at local government and individual property and farm level. There are increasing pressures from tourism and ecotourism. Suitable protection and site stabilisation techniques must be developed. Features must be interpreted and suitably promoted. Alternative sites may need to be located and developed for teaching and ecotourism use.

There is also an increasing need to interpret the major geological heritage features in many of Australia’s World Heritage areas.

Problems arise because of the general lack of geologically-trained staff in National Parks and similar organisations, the common lack of geological input to management plans, and the lack of a high profile for geological heritage. As a recent example of this problem, the current Australian Natural Heritage Charter project, undertaken by a Steering Committee comprising ACIUCN, the Environmental Institute
of Australia, the Australian Local Government Association and the AHC, has been allowed to reach an advanced draft stage without a formal approach to the GSA or any of its subcommittees.

The methodology study proposed here on the management of geological heritage might be a joint initiative of AHC, the World Heritage Unit of DEST, and national and state parks and reserves agencies.
It would provide an invaluable resource for Australia landscape managers at all levels.

Prepared:
29th July 1999 ÿ