The main purpose of geoconservation is the conservation of geosites as basic units of the geological heritage through the implementation of specific inventory, evaluation, conservation, valuation and monitoring procedures. In this paper, geoconservation is characterised as an emergent geoscience within the Earth and Space Sciences where its scope and methods, as well as production and validation of knowledge can be recognised-thus defining Basic Geoconservation-, interrelations with other earth sciences can be established-thus supporting Applied Geoconservation-, and Technical Applications of Geoconservation can be identified through the production of materials, methods and/or scientific services useful to society, namely geoeducation. Promoting scientific education relevant to sustainable development requires new educational approaches involving the Earth Sciences, namely through geoconservation, in order to provide citizens with tools to face environmental problems, such as those arising from the depletion of geological resources-which seriously threaten the geological heritage of the Earth-and the information, skills and will make forward-looking choices, like supporting the legal protection of Natural Monuments and/or the implementation of geotourism (including geoparks).
This paper addresses the relationship between geology and religion in Portugal by focusing on three case studies of naturalists who produced original research and lived in different historical periods, from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. Whereas in non-peripheral European countries religious themes and even controversies between science and religion were dealt with by scientists and discussed in scientific communities, in Portugal the absence of a debate between science and religion within scientific and intellectual circles is particularly striking. From the historiographic point of view, in a country such as Portugal, where Roman Catholicism is part of the religious and cultural tradition, the influence of religion in all aspects of life has been either taken for granted by those less familiar with the national context or dismissed by local intellectuals, who do not see it as relevant to science. The situation is more complex than these dichotomies, rendering the study of this question particularly appealing from the historiographic point of view, geology being by its very nature a well-suited point from which to approach the theme. We argue that there is a long tradition of independence between science and religion, agnosticism and even atheism among local elites. Especially from the eighteenth century onwards, they are usually portrayed as enlightened minds who struggled against religious and political obscurantism. Religion-or, to be more precise, the Roman Catholic Church and its institutions-was usually identified with backwardness, whereas science was seen as the path to progress; consequently men of science usually dissociated their scientific production from religious belief.
For quite a while, scientific biography was relegated to a subordinate status in the history of science. In the last two decades, however, it has seen a revival, which can be explained both by its popularity among general audiences as it conveys a closer image of scientists and scientific practice, and science historians' reappraisal of biography as a literary genre and as a source for their research. When writing scientific biographies or using them as a source, however, historians have to contend with complex questions, such as the extent to which a particular biography is representative of larger patterns, and they face a variety of problems associated with the use of sources such as oral testimonies and obituaries. In this paper, the scientific lives of Joaquim Filipe Nery da Encarnação Delgado (1835-1908) and Francisco Luís Pereira de Sousa (1870-1931), both engineers working at the Portuguese Geological Survey, and Carlos Teixeira (1910-1982), a leading geologist working in the academia, will be analysed. Through this comparison, the authors aim to characterize the development of Portuguese geology in different contexts in the period spanning from the mid-nineteenth to the twentieth century.
The Geological Survey of Portugal (GSP) was created in 1857 as part of the Directorate of Geodesic, Chorographic, Hydrographical Works of the Kingdom established at the Ministry of Public Works, Trade and Industry, within a general policy of control over territory. Until its creation, Portugal lacked any sort of tradition in geological research.Despite changes in name and various restructurings, the GSP was able to produce consistent geological research that was up to international standards, releasing two editions of a geological map of Portugal in the scale 1:500,000, the first in 1876 and the second in 1899. In 1918, the Survey was once again reorganised, becoming part of the new General Directorate of Mines and Geological Survey. Portugal was then enduring a troubled period: the young Republican regime established in 1910 faced financial and political difficulties, and there was much social unrest as a result of World War I. These events deeply affected Survey activities. It is clear that between 1918 and 1948 geology and mapping were not among the Portuguese State's priorities, thus leading to a decline of geological research and mapping.
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