foundation

The first international meeting on geoconservation was held in The Netherlands in 1988, with the presence of seven European countries. One of the outputs of this meeting was the establishment of the European Working Group on Earth Science Conservation, which evolved in 1993 to ProGEO.

ProGEO was the first international body of geoconservation organised as a European and democratic association which has the capacity and the legitimate support to speak for those involved in geoconservation in Europe.

The inspiration of the “First International Symposium on the Conservation of our Geological Heritage” at Digne-les-Bains (France) in 1991 provided a great momentum for the developing cause of European geoconservation, and an ethos to underpin the day-to-day efforts of ProGEO and all in the field, in the form of the Digne Declaration.

main achievements

From the first establishment of ProGEO, seminars, conferences and symposia have been arranged within the framework of the association, both on national and international levels.

Both regional and national ProGEO groups are active in the work of conserving the geological heritage of their countries or regions. One of the main activities of these groups has been contributions to the geosites project which establishes frameworks for selection of geoconservation sites of international importance.

ProGEO has also cooperated with many others to organize meetings and symposia including, sessions at international geological congresses (IGC)in Oslo (2008), Brisbane (2012), and Cape Town (2016). Other key achievements include contributing to the establishment of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) first two geological resolutions ever, the first adopted at the WCC 2008 and the second at the WCC 2012. For the first time, the World Parks Congress 2014 included geoconservation in its programme in Sydney, Australia.

One of the ProGEO’s major initiatives is the scientific publication “Geoheritage”, published by Springer since 2009. This collaborative effort can develop new and broader perspectives in geoconservation, such as geodiversity, geotourism, geoparks, landscape conservation and geological education.

Furthermore, for the first time a comprehensive overview of geoconservation in Europe has been presented in a book – “Geoheritage in Europe and its conservation”. The book includes specific contributions from 37 countries focussing on legislation and geoconservation practices.