Araripe Basin: A Major Geodiversity Hotspot in Brazil

Abstract

In addition to a Fossil-Lagerstatte of international significance for the Lower Cretaceous, the Araripe basin is one of the richest and most threatened reservoirs of geodiversity in Brazil. Far from being limited to its palaeontological heritage, the major importance of geodiversity in the Araripe region is also related to high levels of geomorphodiversity, pedodiversity, and hydrodiversity, as evidenced by recent research. However, numerous threats and severe damages were identified in the field, affecting all the components of the abiotic nature. As a major geodiversity hotspot, the Araripe basin requires greater attention along with an urgent need for conservation in areas without adapted protection tools. The creation of the Araripe UNESCO Global Geopark in 2006 was a crucial step toward geodiversity conservation, but its present borders are far from covering the Araripe basin as a whole. This implies the search for new solutions or alternatives, mainly in the field of geoeducation, to raise geodiversity awareness among the municipal authorities as well as the local population, in a predominantly rural region today affected by rapid and poorly planned urban growth.