Abstract
Geoconservation and geoethics are two emergent domains in geosciences. During the last decade, both topics have increasingly gained the attention of geoscientists and the society, but the main geoethical dilemmas related to the conservation and management of geoheritage are not clearly identified yet. This work aims at providing an overview on the meaning and scope of geoethics and how it intersects geoheritage and the practice of geoconservation. Some case studies—many of which are under current debate and have a high potential as geoeducational resources—are presented for addressing ethical, social and cultural settings as well as dilemmas affecting geoheritage. We find that there are particular cases (mostly concerning the trade of fossils, and in particular the growing concern about activities that rely on amber from Myanmar) for which a clear dichotomy of views makes them much more problematic and complex. These cases deserve more suitable legal frameworks that help implement more balanced ethical standards and practice guidelines for geoconservation, guarantee human rights and needs in relation to that heritage and contribute to the advancement of geosciences. Particular attention is given to palaeontological heritage, as fossils are among the most threatened elements of the Earth’s diversity and are in need of more effective and statutory protection measures. In the context of geoethics applied to palaeontological heritage, and given the need of a clear understanding of what ethics in palaeontology means, a new concept—palaeontoethics—is proposed and formally defined.
Highlights
Geoethics is a young, multidisciplinary field that studies and reflects upon the values that underpin appropriate human practices, whenever anthropogenic activities interact with the Earth System
In the case of geo‐ logical heritage, it is still a major challenge to demonstrate geoethical values involved in the adequate management of in situ occurrences and ex situ elements in order to ensure their sustainability in the long term (Peppoloni and Di Capua 2020; Manni 2012)
Because fossils are the unique geodiversity elements which allow for the reconstruction of the history of life, palaeontological heritage is understood by some authors (Meléndez and Soria-Llop 2000a) as a particular type of geoheritage
Summary
Multidisciplinary field that studies and reflects upon the values that underpin appropriate human practices, whenever anthropogenic activities interact with the Earth System (see Di Capua and Peppoloni 2019 for a comprehensive definition of geoethics). It emerges from the idea that human actions (positive and negative) have an impact on the natural processes and on the environment and that ethical criteria are needed to guide such interac‐ tions, especially if considering that global population has increased rapidly over the past few decades and global warming (Ripple et al 2020; Tortell 2020; Wiedmann et al 2020). The foundation of geoethics is primarily traced back to the following three main elements: (i) the importance of geological culture as an essential part of the geoscientist’s background; (ii) the concept of responsibility (both individ‐ ual and social); and (iii) the definition of an ethical criterion
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