The place of the geomorphosites in the inventory, the protection and the valorization of the geoheritage in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region (France)
Résumé
In accordance with the focal theme of the ICG 2017 dedicated to the relationships between geomorphology and society, this presentation aims to assess the place and role of geomorphological sites in the inventories and the actions of protection and valorization of the geoheritage of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region (France). The choice of this Region, which extends over four physiographic domaines - Massif Central, Saône-Rhône Valley, South Jura and Alps - is justified by its great richness in geodiversity and in geoheritage sites, with more than 450 sites selected in the National Geological Heritage Inventory.
This work is derived from a more general study, founded by the DREAL (regional delegation of the Ministry of Environnement), to assess the state of play of the geoheritage inventories as well as the state of the protection and valorization (for educative and geotouristic purposes) existing in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region. The research is based on the statistical processing of inventories data and on representative cas studies using surveys. The results show the great importance of geomorphosites as a type of geological site in the inventories: at least a quarter of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes' geosites present in the National Geological Heritage Inventory are listed as sites of main geomorphological interest. This ratio is increasing if we consider the geosites presenting a secondary geomorphological interest, or those which the main geological interest embeds a geomorphological aspect (e.g. volcanism). The study aims also to highlight the specificities of the inventoried geomorphosites in regards to the issues of protection (scale effects, landscape stakes, type of protection status) and of their valorization (e.g. landforms used as scenic gateway to introduce the geoharitage to the public). These results should make consider geomorphosites a real asset and a lever for sustainable territorial development.