GEOEDUCATIONAL AND GEOTOURISM VALUES OF AGGREGATE QUARRIES, MISSAN, SOUTHEASTERN IRAQ

Riaed Al Siaede

doi:10.46717/igj.53.2e.3ms-2020-11-25

Abstract

The geoeducation and geotourism potential capabilities were quantitatively estimated in nine quarries locations in eastern Missan, SE Iraq. A quantitative approach is used to compute the scientific, educational, functional, and touristic categorises values for each quarry. categorised values were weighted for three types of audiences: university students, school pupils, and tourists then, the previous geoscientific studies about quarries areas were searches of different geoscience branches and registered. The results show that geoeducation values are greater than geotourism ones in all quarry sites. All quarries show high weight for the education values while the geotourism values are affected by functional infrastructure in each site. The diversity of scientific values of each site are also studied where the petroleum and hydrological activities increased the geoeducation weight of the specific site and supplied more geological knowledge.

Highlights

Geotourism, or tourism related to geological sites and features, including geomorphological sites and landscapes, relatively it is a new phenomenon that resulted from a subgroup of geology and tourism
Geotourism charter, which was developed by the National Geographical Society (NGC) is focused on the geoeducation to improve the relation between the visitors and hosts in the geoeducation and geotourism sites, “Interactive interpretation engages both visitors and hosts in learning about the place
Božić, (2014) developed the Geosites Assessment Model (GAM) used in the assessment of the three aforementioned geosites in Lazer Canyon is Serbia, and concluded that the tourists in the assessment process have a decisive role on model final results

Summary

Introduction

Geotourism, or tourism related to geological sites and features, including geomorphological sites and landscapes, relatively it is a new phenomenon that resulted from a subgroup of geology and tourism. Encourage residents to show off the natural and cultural heritage of their communities, so that tourists gain a richer experience, and residents develop pride in their locales” (Herzog et al, 2008 and Errami et al, 2009). The geosites evaluation has been developing since the 1990s, in three main domains: within the context of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures, (for the elaboration of geographic knowledge on the geomorphological heritage in the context of land planning; and in the context of geoheritage promotion (geotourism and cultural heritage in a broad sense). From university researchers to local community groups, UNESCO Global Geoparks encourage awareness of the planet story as read in the rocks, landscape, and ongoing geological processes” (Henriques and Brilha, 2017). The outdoor studies and the geosite visits are vital requirements to develop student practical skills, Weather, geoscience university departments students, or school pupils (Gajek et al, 2019; Tipon et al, 2016 and Tetik, 2016)

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