Geoconservation in Spain: History, Legislation, and Future Challenges

A synthesis of the current state of geoconservation in Spain and an identification of the key associations and entities that develop it are presented. We also provide a historical review with references for the main publications on the subject to date. In addition, new and updated information on the current status of geoconservation in the country is also presented including a report on the main geoconservation actions in Spain, from the development of inventories at various spatial scales and the geological heritage and geodiversity management carried out for various types of protected areas to the legislation derived from environmental, cultural, and land planning approaches. We also analyze the evolution of the activities of the Commission on Geological Heritage of the Spanish Geological Society (CPG-SGE) as a case study that can provide a somewhat biased but significant view of the development of geoconservation in Spain. Novel lines of work that are being carried out are also additionally presented, such as the monitoring of geosites or recording the traditional knowledge and uses of geodiversity in Spain. As we present here, Spain has made very significant advances in the field of geoconservation over the last fifty years and hence could be considered as a reference for the development and implementation of the concept at a national scale. However, there is still a long way to go as we continue to develop the discipline in the years to come.