TITLE:
Geodiversity Examples of Morocco: From Inventory to Regional Geotourism Development
AUTHORS:
Hassan El Hadi, Abdelfatah Tahiri, José Brilha, Ayoub El Maidani, Bouamar Baghdad, Abdelkrim Zaidi
KEYWORDS:
Geodiversity, Morocco, Inventory, Regional Development
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ecology,
Vol.5 No.9,
September
10,
2015
ABSTRACT: The soil and subsoil of Morocco are rich in geological phenomena that bear the imprint of a history which goes back in time more than 2000 million years. Very many geologically remarkable sites exposed in accessible outcrops, with good quality remained unknown to the general public and therefore deserved to be vulgarized. It is a memory to acquaint the present generations but also to preserve for future generations. In total, a rich geological heritage in many ways: Varied landscapes, international stratotypes, various geological structures, varied rocks, mineral associations, a huge procession offossiles, remnants of oceanic crust (ophiolites) among oldests ones in the world (800 my), etc. For this geological heritage, an approach of an overall inventory is needed, both regionally and nationally, taking into account all the skills of the earth sciences. This will put the item on the natural (geological) potentialities as a lever for sustainable regional development. For this, it is necessary to implement a strategy of “geoconservation” for the preservation and assessment of the geological heritage. A website “lithothèque du Maroc” is under construction.