Geoethics as a normative foundation for geoheritage, geoconservation, and geoeducation: from geological value toward moral responsibility

Abstract

Geoethics provides the normative foundation for moving beyond valuation alone, reframing geoheritage as a moral reference point that grounds obligations of care, responsibility, and justice in human‑Earth relations. While prevailing approaches emphasize the intrinsic, instrumental, aesthetic, scientific, or cultural value of geological features, value‑based rationales by themselves do not fully explain why societies ought to care in the Anthropocene or how responsibilities emerge from human‑Earth interactions. Grounded in contemporary geoethical theory, we propose an integrative framework that links geoscientific knowledge, ethical reasoning, and socio‑cultural values, and that positions geoconservation and geoeducation as complementary ethical practices enacted within UNESCO Global Geoparks, other protected or designated socio‑ecological contexts, and everyday landscapes beyond them. In this framing, geoconservation is reconceptualized as stewardship guided by equity (including intergenerational and interregional justice), precaution, and participatory governance. Geoeducation is articulated as a practice that, at its best, couples technical learning with ethical reflection, cultivating sense of place, moral sensibility, and agency through experiential, place‑based, and community‑engaged approaches. The framework is explicitly dynamic, emphasizing feedback loops through which learning supports conservation and conservation practice becomes a locus for learning and deliberation about competing values and trade‑offs. The paper concludes with implications for policy and governance and outlines empirical pathways for examining geoethical awareness across geocultural contexts, including within geopark networks and broader geoconservation initiatives.