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The Geological Survey of Spain (IGME) has been implementing UNESCO-IUGS Global Geosites Project in Spain since 1999, following the methodology designed within the framework of ProGeo (Wimbledon, 1996). A multidisciplinary working group at IGME proposed a preliminary list of 18 Spanish geological frameworks with international relevance (GFs). To assure maximum national consensus, the proposal was sent as a poll to all geology and mining engineering university departments in Spain, as well as research institutions and scientific societies related with Earth Sciences. A total of 55 different institutions were polled, obtaining response from one third of them. Taking into account the modifications proposed, the working group agreed upon a final list of the 20 Spanish GFs, which was presented at the 31st IGC in Río de Janeiro (García-Cortés et al., 2001).
Beginning in 2001, IGME's working group invited 40 experts from eleven universities and six institutions related to geology and paleontology to work on the description of the GFs, and to justify their global significance. In subsequent years, this same group of specialists identified and described the 144 sites of geological interest (geotopes) better representing those 20 GFs. This work finished in September 2007, and the data has been stored in a specific database following the requirements of the Global Geosites project. These sites will be the Spanish candidates to be on the international list of Global Geosites defining the Geological Heritage of the Earth. Following the methodology of this international project, in coming years we must enter the last phase in collaboration with other national working groups to compare the interest and merits of all sites of geological interest identified in the previous phase.
The Commission on Geological Heritage of the Geological Society of Spain (SGE), and the Spanish Association of Professional Geologists (ICOG), adopted the results of the Spanish Global Geosites project and used the list of GFs in their allegations and amendments during the parliamentary procedure of Law 42/2007 on Natural Heritage and Biodiversity. The result was quite satisfactory: for the first time since the beginnings of environmental legislation in Spain, a law is inspired by the principle of conservation of geodiversity (Art. 2), defines concepts like geodiversity, geoparks and geological heritage (Art. 3), and establishes (Art. 9) that the Ministry of Environment, with the collaboration of regional governments and of scientific institutions and organizations, will elaborate and maintain updated an Inventory of Sites of Geological Interest representative of, at least, the geological units and frameworks specified in Annex VIII of the Law, which includes the 20 GFs identified in the Spanish Global Geosites project, as well as seven additional geological units representative of Spanish geodiversity.
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