Geoheritage Integration in the Management of the Cuban Protected Areas

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Geoheritage Integration in the Management of the Cuban Protected Areas J. L. Corvea 1 & R. Gutiérrez 2 & J. A. Pascual-Aguilar 3,4 & I. de Bustamante 4 & A. Blanco 4 Received: 21 October 2019 / Accepted: 29 June 2020 # The European Association for Conservation of the Geological Heritage 2020

Abstract In the last decade, knowledge of Cuban geological heritage has undergone a significant advance, highlighting the active and joint participation of academic, scientific and administrative institutions. The national inventory of geosites, their cartography and dissemination is being carried out throughout the country. At the same time, they are starting to be integrated into the management of protected areas as a main scenario for geoconservation. In the present work, we describe the general peculiarities identifying geological heritage in the National System of Protected Areas, grouped by two fundamental criteria: their delimitation according to types of protected area and the types of singular elements that can be recognized throughout the territory. Similarly, we present an analysis of the results of the national geosite inventory, specifically applied to the context of protected areas, which identifies an information gap taking into account the current management categories, the type of interest and places of high potential not included in the inventory. In this context, the theoretical model for integration of geological heritage is based on the methodology for preparing protected area management plans that is used throughout the country, based on a protocol for the selection of conservation objects of a geological nature, which includes conceptual and methodological aspects from various authors, adapted for Cuba and local initiatives and experiences. Finally, we confirm the need to update and modify the current methodology for the national geosite inventory, develop a training schedule to facilitate its application and involve technical personnel and managers of protected areas, including the geoconservation approach in all management processes and incorporating the selection of geological conservation objects and their integration into the management plans for each protected area. Keywords Geoheritage . Protected areas . Cuba . Geosites . Conservation object

Introduction The Cuban archipelago, within the insular Caribbean, is distinguished by the complexity of a varied natural rocky

substrate. Its main geological features are the chronological factor that shows the territory evolution from the Jurassic to the present, the presence of remains of two volcanic arches and the recognition of 344 lithostratigraphic units (Instituto de

Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-020-00491-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * A. Blanco [email protected] J. L. Corvea [email protected]

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