The Geological Conservation Review (GCR) in Great Britain—Rationale and methods

Abstract

Geoconservation – protecting, managing and enhancing natural geological features and materials, and geomorphological landforms and processes – is especially important in Great Britain, a place sometimes described as the ‘cradle’ of the science of geology. For such a small area of land, Britain has an unusually diverse geological make-up, with rocks from every geological period present. Many stratigraphical terms used internationally were devised here, and British sites provide key study areas where important new geological theories were developed in the pioneering era of the Earth sciences. Therefore, with such a wealth of geology, and Britain's seminal place in the science itself, it is particularly important to conserve and protect key localities here for future generations. A first step in that process is the auditing of the geology and geomorphology of Britain, by carrying out a scientific evaluation exercise according to standard criteria, and creating an inventory of the most important sites for science. In the mid-1970s, the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) began an ambitious programme for assessment and documentation of the most important sites for the scientific study of geology and geomorphology in Great Britain, building on previous statutory site conservation activity that had already been started in 1949 by the former Nature Conservancy. As a result, the ‘Geological Conservation Review’ (GCR) was formally launched in 1977. The GCR was a world-first project of its type in the systematic assessment of the whole geological heritage of a country, from first principles. Widespread consultation with geologists and geomorphologists across Great Britain was co-ordinated; their guidance and involvement was a key component of the site selection process. Almost 3000 nationally or internationally important sites had been selected for around 100 site-selection categories for the GCR register by 1990. Almost all the GCR sites are now conserved under British law as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), the GCR information providing the scientific evidence-base that underpins that designation. As part of the site-selection process – which is still active – a considerable archive of information about geological sites was amassed. A major publication exercise detailing all the GCR sites in what was to become the GCR Series of books was devised early on in the GCR programme. Thirty-six volumes of the GCR Series have been seen to completion by NCC and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, and many GCR site reports have been many made freely available on the World Wide Web. As a new venture, the remaining nine volumes will now be published by Elsevier Science Publishers as Special Issues of the Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association. Each GCR volume includes an overview of the subject and outlines the history of study of the relevant branch of the Earth sciences, but most importantly contains detailed accounts of the features of geological importance in the sites described. A scientific interpretation is provided for each site account, which includes supportive illustrations, tables and photographs and an extensive reference list. The GCR rationale, methods and information resource have been invaluable in almost every aspect of geoconservation carried out in Britain, including World Heritage Site nominations, protection of stratotypes, justifying the scientific conservation value of sites at Public Inquiries, in stimulating geological research and in providing a readily available information resource for local, regional, national and international geoconservation activities.