Enhancing global nature conservation by integrating geodiversity in policy and practice

Article Impact statement: Conservationists could better acknowledge geodiversity by following the steps of promotion, collaboration, integration, and implementation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


INTRODUCTION
Flora and fauna are commonly in the spotlight in nature conservation. However, geodiversity, the richness of Earth's surface and subsurface features and processes, has gained increasing attention in research (Schrodt et al., 2019) and conservation practice (Brilha, 2022;Crofts et al., 2020). Geodiversity is essential for sustaining biodiversity Schrodt et al., 2019) but is not yet in the mainstream of conservation policy and practice (Brilha & Reynard, 2018;Schrodt et al., 2019;Chakraborty & Gray, 2020;Crofts, 2022). We devised a fourstep plan toward consistent consideration of geodiversity for the benefit of nature that we call PCII: promotion, collaboration, integration (i.e., policy), and implementation (i.e., practice).
In 2015, there was a Conservation Biology Special Section dedicated to geodiversity in biodiversity conservation . The framework of "conserving nature's stage" (CNS) was introduced: geodiversity forms the stage for actors (organisms) and the more diverse the stage, the more diverse the actors. This is because diverse abiotic conditions create many niches and microhabitats for different species, offering a range of ecosystem functions, even as the wider environment changes . The range of environmental conditions also creates opportunities for two-way interactions between species and the physical environment (Viles, 2020). Empirical works support the existence of a geodiversity-biodiversity relationship at various spatial scales (Tukiainen et al., 2022).
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2022 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.
Geoconservation is advanced at the international level (Brilha, 2022), with geosite assessments readily conducted (Brilha & Reynard, 2018). Leading conservation organizations, including the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), recognize the role of geodiversity and geoconservation in their own right and for their benefits to biodiversity (Crofts et al., 2020). The explicit mention of geodiversity in the revised IUCN categories of protected areas (Dudley, 2008) is particularly important. The Geoheritage Specialist Group of the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and IUCN are currently defining the methods, criteria, standards, and governance to be applied as key geoheritage areas, which would complement the key biodiversity areas program (Brilha, 2022). The Global Geoparks Network has grown from 17 European and eight Chinese Geoparks in 2004 to 177 UNESCO Global Geoparks across 46 countries (as of October 2022).
Despite the growing recognition of geodiversity, geoconservation still lags biodiversity conservation (Brilha & Reynard, 2018;Schrodt et al., 2019). Excellent examples of geodiversity recognition exist for some regions (examples in Table 1), but geodiversity is not routinely acknowledged. Yet, its features are susceptible to damage by human activities (Crofts et al., 2020). For instance, deterioration of Natural World Heritage Sites listed under criterion (viii) "geology" has been reported (Osipova et al., 2020). According to the CNS framework, geodiversity may play a vital role in supporting biodiversity in a changing climate. This is because the stage, or physical environment, See also the summary about geoconservation in Spain: Carcavilla et al. 2009 National USA National Parks Service Geodiversity Atlas The atlas provides a repository for geodiversity information across the portfolio of national parks, explicitly identifying features and processes across geology, soil, hydrology, and geomorphology. It also provides "Field Notes" to assist visitors, educators, and students. The atlas actively recognizes and promotes geodiversity by allowing people to easily engage with geodiversity across the country. Information from the atlas is used to support the management of geodiversity and biodiversity.

Cresswell, 2019
Local Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP), Arizona (USA) Grand Canyon National Park: Geologic Resources Inventory Report The GCNP is a keystone protected area in the U.S. National Park System, a World Heritage Site, and one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It is especially known for its geologic landscapes and resources, which are extensively discussed in the inventory report. The report provides geological map data and pertinent geologic information to support resource management and science-informed decision-making and it is conducted for the natural resource parks through the U.S. National Park system. The purpose of the GCNP is to preserve and protect Grand Canyon's unique geologic, paleontologic, and other natural and cultural features, as well as to provide the public opportunity to experience Grand Canyon's outstanding natural and cultural features and to protect and interpret Grand Canyon's extraordinary scientific and natural values.

Northumberland National
Park: Geodiversity Audit and Action Plan The plan addresses the varied facets of geodiversity in the national park and adjoining area. It provides practical suggestions (e.g., objectives and related actions, the list of geodiversity sites) for the increased protection of and enhancement of geodiversity and encourages the involvement of local community. It is made to complement the policies for the protection of wildlife, cultural, and historical issues. Altogether, there are 11 objectives and 49 related actions that the plan sets out. An example of an objective and related action: Objective 5. Geodiversity of active quarries. Action 6.1 Encourage Quarry Operators to prepare quarry-specific Geodiversity Action Plans Action 6.2 Seek opportunities to report, record, conserve, and enhance geodiversity in active quarries https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/ eprint/7493/1/CR07037N. pdf may have greater resilience to climatic changes compared with biological communities Comer et al. 2015). Thus, it is important to ask how geodiversity can be better recognized and how geodiversity conservation can be better integrated as an important component and target of nature conservation policies and practice. From our perspective, the major challenge is to raise awareness of the significant role of geodiversity and have this formalized in conservation planning, which will then inform practical conservation efforts. The successful policy requires societal and political will and evidence and knowledge of the practical steps and tools. Therefore, to tackle this challenge, we suggest four important steps: promotion, collaboration, integration, and implementation (PCII).

Promotion of the importance of geodiversity for nature conservation at different scales (step 1)
The first step is to justify and share information about the importance of geodiversity in itself and for living nature by asking and answering the question, across audiences: why should geodiversity, in the current nature conservation context, be recognized? In promoting geodiversity, it is useful to highlight its role in ecosystem service provision (Chakraborty & Gray, 2020) and its contribution to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, such as clean water and sanitation and life on land, for example, by introducing the CNS strategy (Gray & Crofts, 2022). Events like the World Biodiversity Forum and International Geodiversity Day (6 October) present prime opportunities for promotion.

Collaboration between relevant stakeholders in policy, wildlife conservation, protected area management, geoconservation, and local communities (step 2)
The second step is to increase communication and collaboration among stakeholders in biodiversity conservation and geoconservation, such as between local communities and policymakers or among researchers from different disciplines, such as geology, geography, and ecology. Efforts could focus on the topics highlighted in the Conservation Biology CNS Special Section , such as testing the effectiveness of CNS (especially at fine spatial scales), exploring the vulnerability of various geodiversity features to climate change, and scrutinizing how geodiversity conservation can best support ecological and evolutionary processes. Steps toward aligning different stakeholders are being made in science (e.g., Anderson et al., 2015;Schrodt et al., 2019;Gordon et al., 2022) and in practice (such as work done by different international organizations, e.g., International Union of Geological Sciences, ProGEO, IUCN, and UNESCO), but there is space and need for more. In addition to collaboration among different organizations and stakeholders, it is important to advocate discussion within major nature conservation organizations. For instance, there could be a joint task force among the IUCN WCPA and the IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy to investigate stakeholder involvement, or with WCPA and IUCN Species Survival Commission to determine practical possibilities of the conservation of geodiversity contributing to the conservation of at-risk species.

Integration of geodiversity into global and national policy frameworks (step 3)
For the integration of geodiversity into policy frameworks and systematic conservation planning, long-established (e.g., IUCN protected area categories) and newer area-based conservation approaches should be utilized (e.g., other effective area-based conservation measures [OECMs]). For instance, geodiversity considerations could be incorporated into ecological gap analysis, which is used to identify biodiversity that is not sufficiently conserved in existing protected areas or through other effective and long-term conservation measures (Dudley, 2008). Across scales and locations, national policy should more explicitly require the consideration of geodiversity as an integral part of nature conservation and monitoring (Gordon et al., 2022). For example, in Scotland, the Geodiversity Charter places expectations on local authorities, while in Tasmania, geodiversity has an equal part with biodiversity in the Natural Heritage Strategy (more examples in Table 1).
In geoconservation, the inventory of geosites has been essential when integrating geoheritage into the management of protected areas (Mucivuna et al., 2022) across a range of methods and places (Brilha & Reynard, 2018). Ongoing work by the IUCN and its Geoheritage Specialist Group on defining the characteristics of key geoheritage areas offers possibilities for the mobilization of local administrations and communities for enhanced geoconservation with a unified geosite evaluation framework (Brilha, 2022).
Some designated sites will be for geoconservation (e.g., a geosite or geopark). The level of legal protection for these sites is highly variable between countries, but many that offer some sort of long-term protection for geodiversity will also have biodiversity benefits because pressures from humans will be limited. In such cases, sites may be considered OECMs (i.e., biodiversity is not the focus, but is a beneficiary). Although a relatively new concept in area-based conservation, OECMs could offer a consistent mechanism for integrating geodiversity into a national policy based on existing IUCN guidance (IUCN-WCPA Task Force on OECMs, 2019).

Implementation of geodiversity-biodiversity management in practice (step 4)
The fourth step is the integration of geodiversity into conservation management, which can be done by utilizing existing best practice in geoconservation (e.g., Crofts et al. [2020] give an overview of geoheritage management in protected areas) and biodiversity conservation (e.g., Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation and the Conservation Measures Partnership frameworks). The implementation would benefit from a clear, practical framework for classifying and mapping geodiversity features, assessing trends in their condition, and monitoring their conservation based on robust metrics. Gordon et al. (2022; see their Figure 2) demonstrate the application of geodiversity to biodiversity conservation for protected area managers; their approach could easily be applied outside protected areas (e.g., for OECMs). Integrating geodiversity requires collecting data on a site's geology, geomorphology, soil, topography, and hydrology, the landscape, and paleoenvironmental records, as applicable. Geodiversity must then be assessed regarding the ecological relevance and connectivity between features; these features define the site's conservation objectives. Finally, geoconservation measures must be implemented to protect and manage features of conservation significance, which will require monitoring and consideration in the wider geographic context (e.g., connectivity) with future environmental change in mind.
Effectiveness should then be assessed based on guidance developed by the IUCN WCPA (Hockings et al., 2006). Effective conservation requires understanding the local social, cultural, and environmental context (e.g., links between geodiversity and biodiversity); setting objectives and planning how to achieve them; obtaining adequate resources; establishing a management process; monitoring; delivering objectives; and assessing outcomes. Ultimately, existing management effectiveness systems will need to be modified to explicitly account for geodiversity and its role in maintaining biodiversity to better reflect their close connection. This could mean, for example, monitoring a hydrological feature (e.g., a freshwater spring) or geomorphological process (e.g., slope stability) toward measuring the effectiveness of practical efforts to reduce pressures on these features and, ultimately, the species that benefit from them.

SUMMARY
Integrating geodiversity into mainstream nature conservation planning and management is essential for the sake of biodiversity, which could be better protected by recognizing geodiversity, and for the intrinsic value of geodiversity itself. We need a holistic approach to nature to safeguard both biodiversity and geodiversity. Our PCII steps offer a pathway toward consistent consideration of geodiversity in nature conservation.