Comparing Methods of Evaluation of Geosites: The Fossiliferous Outcrops of Santa Maria Island (Azores, NE Atlantic) as a Case Study for Sustainable Island Tourism

Abstract

The increasing interest in geotourism has prompted the need for quantitative assessments of geosites as a fundamental step in the application of geoconservation strategies, in order to assure sustainable planning, management and use of natural resources. The improvement of methodologies used to evaluate geosites dictates the revision of previous assessments on a regular basis. Santa Maria Island in the Azores Archipelago is renowned for its palaeontological heritage. Herein, we present the results of a re-evaluation of 17 fossiliferous geosites, based on an updated methodology in which four main independent criteria are considered: (1) scientific value; (2) educational value; (3) touristic value; and (4) degradation risk. These new results were compared with a previous evaluation of the same geosites, based on the Q-value. Our results show that an evaluation of the fossiliferous geosites based on independent criteria is more suitable, especially for political and economic stakeholders. The study of these geosites also permitted the development of high-quality promotional products for the Regional Government of the Azores, as in the case of the “House of the Fossils” museum, the “Fossils Route” and the newly formed “Santa Maria PalaeoPark,” making this island a good example of a successful joint venture between science, political decision-makers, geoconservation management strategies, sustainable tourism and education.

Pliocene and late Pleistocene (MIS 5e) decapod crustaceans from Santa Maria Island (Azores Archipelago: Central Atlantic): systematics, palaeoecology and palaeobiogeography

“…Serralheiro et al ., 1987, Serralheiro and Madeira, 1990, Serralheiro, 2003; and Ávila, 2013b) – it becomes clear that the depositional setting of the Cré outcrop was located at some distance from the coeval shore of the island and in deeper waters than any of the other fossiliferous outcrops of Santa Maria (cf. Ávila et al ., 2016a; Raposo et al ., 2018), with an open ocean, deep environment (80–100 m in depth) inferred for the final resting place of all these fossils.…”

“…[Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com] and on the age of the latest eruptions taking place at Santa Maria Island edifice (Ramalho et al, 2020). Finally, a thorough evaluation of the relevance of the fossiliferous outcrops (Ávila et al, 2016a), and their sustainable use for tourism (Raposo et al, 2018) also grounded the settings for the implementation of the world's first PalaeoPark (Ávila & Rodrigues, 2013). All this scientific effort has been made available to the general audience as popular books (Ávila & Monteiro, 2009;Ávila et al, 2010;Ávila & Rodrigues, 2013) or as book chapters (Ávila, 2009;Alcalá and Mampel, 2014;Berning et al, 2015).…”

Fernando de Noronha Archipelago (Brazil): A Coastal Geopark Proposal to Foster the Local Economy, Tourism and Sustainability

“…Geotourism has turned to be an important instrument of environmental awareness through the local and foreign people". In the same Geopark, the increasing interest in geotourism has prompted the need for quantitative assessments of geosites as a fundamental step in the application of geoconservation strategies, in order to assure sustainable planning, management, and use of natural resources [51].…”

Pliocene and Late Pleistocene actinopterygian fishes from Santa Maria Island, Azores (NE Atlantic Ocean): palaeoecological and palaeobiogeographical implications

“…The remarkable marine fossil record of Santa Maria Island in the Azores Archipelago has been intensively studied over the last decades (for a review, see Ávila et al 2018). The result has been 204 Pliocene and 146 Pleistocene (Last Interglacial) species and 15-20 further ichnospecies reported for the island (Santos et al 2015;Uchman et al 2016Uchman et al , 2017Raposo et al 2018). The vast majority of specimens collected are invertebrates: molluscs (Zbyszewski & Ferreira, 1962;Ávila et al 2002, 2015bJanssen et al 2008), brachiopods (Kroh et al 2008), crustacean balanids (Winkelmann et al 2010), echinoderms (Madeira et al 2011) and ostracods (Meireles et al 2012).…”