This book aims to identify geotourism and geoparks as gateways to socio-cultural, socio-environmental, and socio-economic sustainability in rural areas. At present, geotourism is a new movement helping travelers to increase their knowledge about natural resources, the cultural identities of host communities, and ways of preserving them. The 'emerging tourism' niche of geotourism is still at an early stage of commercial development in most countries, and geoparks as a sustainable development model for protected areas are pioneers in the development of geotourism marketing. The establishment of the European Geoparks Network and the Global Geoparks Network are positive steps toward the preservation and presentation of geo-heritage as a new tourist attraction. Geoparks and Geotourism provides an opportunity for students, professionals, and authorities of geoparks to take advantage of emerging techniques to create new products, facilities, services, technologies, and management practices for geoparks in the future. Consequently, the book is a paradigm for geoparks who want to come under the umbrella of the Global Geoparks Network. The numerous examples provided of geoparks currently attracting travelers may contribute to the creation of innovative strategies for sustainability and geoconservation in rural areas around the world.

The book introduces tourism earth-science as a new scientific discipline by applying the principles of earth-science in the study of natural and human tourism resources. It involves studying the geo-scientific characteristics of these tourism resources through surveys, evaluation and aesthetic value assessment. It also discusses about the principles behind geopark establishment and management. It is an important publication providing direction for geopark and tourism developments in China. The book is a tool for geological heritage survey, assessment and research. It can also be used to assist planning of geopark, national parks, heritage protection and scientific interpretation. It is a valuable teaching material for teachers and students of geoscience and tourism as well as providing useful guidance for geopark managers and tour guides in their operation. In addition, the book also offers scientific knowledge of the surrounding natural and cultural landscapes to the public and the general visitors.

This unique book is dedicated to helping promote geoheritage, geoconservation, and geoparks in Africa and the Middle East. Local, regional, global and thematic case studies including a geoheritage toolkit are used to illustrate the scope and depth of geoheritage and highlight some current geoparks and aspiring candidates in Africa, the Middle East, China , Europe,and Australia. This special issue mainly consists of the proceedings of the First International Conference on Geoparks in Africa and Middle East (FICGAME) held in, El Jadida, Morocco in 2011. The conference, hosted by the Faculty of Sciences of Chouaib Doukkali University, was organized by the African Geoparks Network and the African Association of Women in Geosciences incollaboration with the UNESCO Cairo Office.

Geotourism is a new, emerging scientific discipline by applying the principles of earth science in the study of natural and human tourism resources. It involves the principles and methodologies of art, landscape architecture, environmental science and tourism in dealing with earth science issues of tourism activities and provides guidance to the establishment, management and protection of geoparks, forest parks and scenic areas. The Dictionary of Geotourism contains over 3,000 definitions, hundreds of diagrams and pictures with easy to understand explanations and illustrations in six different parts covering the concepts, principles, tourism earth science resources, applications, geopark establishment and management, geology-related parks and world heritage sites. It contains plenty of Chinese concepts and examples of nature-based tourism, natural and cultural landscapes, sustainable and rural developments, conservation systems and methods, park development and management, which are seldom being shared outside China while it also balances the views of other global counterparts. This dictionary is a reference for geological heritage survey, assessment and research. It can also be used to assist designing and planning of geopark, national parks, heritage protection, museum, exhibition and scientific interpretation. It is a valuable teaching material for teachers and students of geoscience and tourism as well as providing useful guidance for geopark, national park managers and tour guides in their operation. In addition, it offers scientific knowledge of the surrounding natural and cultural landscapes to the general public.

Essays on aspects of the natural world, its heritage, and how best to preserve it. Europe's engagement from the late sixteenth century onwards in scientific Earth science inquiry has generated numerous and varied collections of minerals, rocks, and fossils, together with their associated archives, artworks and publications, forming a rich cultural geoheritage held in major private and especially royal and aristocratic collections, museums, universities, archives and libraries. The mines, quarries, geological structures, landforms, minerals, rocks and fossils - or geodiversity - that underpin these collections populate past and present-day Earth science literature. However, for too long their scientific, historic and cultural significance was not universally recognised and generally they were not accorded adequate resources and protection - or geoconservation. Hence, geotourism was developed in the 1990s to raise public awareness of Europe's geoheritage and geodiversity and to promote itsgeoconservation; the volume's theoretical essays and case studies examine these four core geoelements and provide a timely introduction for anyone interested in natural history museums, countryside management, and landscape-basedtourism. Dr Thomas A. Hose is an Honorary Research Associate in the School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol. He has pioneered the recognition of and research into geotourism, and is the author of the world's first doctoral thesis on the subject. Contributors: Kevin Crawford, Peter Davis, John E. Gordon. Thomas A. Hose, Jonathan G. Larwood, Slobodan B. Markovic, Martin Munt, Emmanuel Reynard, Nemanja Tomic, Djordjije A. Vasiljevic, Margaret Wood, Volker Wrede

Georgia’s territory represents a real “natural geological laboratory,” exposing magmatic, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, ranging from the Neoproterozoic to the Quaternary. After a brief presentation of Georgia’s history and culture, the authors present the stratigraphy, rock types of individual tectonic zones of Georgia, their tectonic structure and paleotectonic reconstructions of the Caucasus. This book describes the three main geotourism routes of Georgia meticulously: 1. Tbilisi-Pasanauri-Kazbegi (along the Georgian Military Road), 2. Tbilisi-Zugdidi-Mestia-Ushguli and 3. Tbilisi-Khashuri-Vardzia, which cross different parts of Fold Systems of the Greater and Lesser Caucasus and Transcaucasian Intermountain area. The following potential geoparks are described in this book: 1. Sataplia dinosaur footprints together with Sataplia and Prometheus caves; 2. Tskaltubo resort-town and mineral water deposit; 3. Borjomi resort-town and mineral water deposit; 4. Kazbegi Quaternary volcanoes and Keli volcanic highland;5. Dariali Paleozoic granitoid massif; 6. Dmanisi hominids site and the Mashavera gorge basaltic flow; 7. Dashbashi canyon; 8.Uplistsikhe rock-cut town and Kvakhvreli cave complex; 9.Udabno - Upper Miocene marine and continental deposits and David Gareja monastery complex;10. Dedoplistskaro - Vashlovani protected areas and mud volcanoes.

This book will deal with geological as well as cultural, historical, archaeological and biological aspects in Jeju Global Geopark. It will start with introduction of Jeju Global Geopark, geographic setting, habitats, history, economy and tourism, management, general geology and geosites, future geosites, other significant heritage sites, economically sustainable tourism, education and promotion and management plan.