Geoheritage: Protecting and Sharing

7th International Symposium ProGEO on the Conservation of the Geological Heritage

3rd Regional Meeting of the ProGEO SW Europe Working Group
Bari, Italy

24-28 September 2012

Second Circular

INVITATION AND SYMPOSIUM VENUE
The Italian Society of Environmental Geology (SIGEA) and the European Association for the Conservation of the
Geological Heritage (ProGEO) organise the 7th International Symposium on the Conservation of the Geological
Heritage. People (professionals, academics, students) dealing with nature conservation, geotourism, geoparks,
education, management, sustainable development, planning and decision-making, and other topics related to
the theme of "geoheritage" are invited to participate and encouraged to present their data/experiences by
submission of short abstracts.
The Symposium will take place in Bari (Apulia, Italy) on September 25-26 2012, and will be held at the Sala
Murat, Piazza del Ferrarese. It will be preceded by one day field-trips (two choices on September 24) and will be
followed by a two days field-trip (on 27-28 September).
Bari is among the biggest towns in southern Italy, served by the international airport "Karol Wojtyla" and also
easily reachable by train and ship.
The main aims of the Symposium are:
 to discuss land-use planning, threats and constraints;
 to discuss the recent developments in geodiversity assessment methodologies and geosites inventories
in Europe;
 to discuss the legal framework supporting geoconservation strategies;
 to encourage a possible convergence between geoconservation and geotourism;
 to discuss sustainable management policies and geosites exploitation within geoparks;
 to promote the best practices and lessons learned in geoparks for local development;
 to enhance geotourism and its potential for regional development;
 to implement the most effective outreach methods for successful communication with the public and
decision- and policy-makers;
 to improve international cooperation and local initiatives for the education and divulgation of science;
 to establish links between geoconservation specialists, mainly in Mediterranean area;
 to support special measures and guidelines for conservation of our shared geoheritage.