An open geospatial database as a tool for geoheritage management at national scale: The case study of Greece

Abstract

Geological heritage or geoheritage is of at least equal significance to – and sometimes also interwoven with – cultural heritage. Hence, it holds the potential of scientific, educational, cultural, aesthetic, and touristic value. Nevertheless, geoheritage has not attracted the same level of attention as cultural heritage to date, especially regarding its sustainable management and suitable conservation strategies. Yet actions and measures are mandatory to preserve and highlight geological heritage and to reduce threats that may cause its deterioration or even extinction. To this end, geospatial science and technology provide the means for documenting and dealing with geological heritage throughout the individual steps of the geoheritage management process. In this study, we present a holistic approach to geoheritage management at the national level for Greece, based on the implementation of a Geographical Information Systems (GIS) database that also enables the coupling of geoheritage with a plethora of readily available geospatial information from remote sensing and other sources. The results demonstrate that an appropriate, geospatial record of geological heritage can have a crucial contribution to geoheritage management from its identification, to its monitoring, protection, and exploitation for educational, scientific, recreational, and other purposes.