The Geological Conservation Review
Conservation
of geological and geomorphological sites has always been part of
the responsibilities of the statutory nature conservation agencies
(the Countryside Council for Wales, Natural England and
Scottish Natural Heritage and their forebears the Nature
Conservancy and the Nature Conservancy Council). A major initiative
to identify and describe the most important geological sites in
Britain began in 1977, with the launching of the Geological
Conservation Review (GCR). This was a major step forward in Earth
heritage conservation.
The GCR was designed to identify those sites of national and
international importance needed to show all the key scientific
elements of the Earth heritage of Britain. These sites display
sediments, rocks, fossils, and features of the landscape that make
a special contribution to our understanding and appreciation of
Earth science and the geological history of Britain, which
stretches back hundreds of millions of years. After over two
decades of site evaluation and documentation, we now have an
inventory of over 3000 GCR sites, selected for around 100
categories (the GCR 'Blocks') encompassing the range of geological
and geomorphological features of Britain.
The results of the Geological Conservation Review programme
are being published in a series of 45 volumes, the
Geological Conservation Review Series. The aim
of the Geological Conservation Review Series is to provide a public
record of the features of interest and importance at localities
already notified or being considered for notification as 'Sites of
Special Scientific Interest' (SSSIs). The sites selected – GCR
sites – form the basis of statutory geological and geomorphological
site conservation in Britain. More information regarding the
selection of sites, and the publication and content of the GCR
volumes, both published and in preparation is available on the
GCR Series
webpages. Publication will be completed in 2011.
In addition to the detailed site reports available in the
45-volume series, JNCC has developed the
GCR site
database, which contains basic site information for the 3000
GCR sites already selected together with some fuller reports (as
published in GCR books) that have been converted to digital forms
suitable for provision via the GCR database. Users of the
resource can search for information in various ways, for example by
site name, geographical location or geological context. For
more
information on the database>>>
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