| ProGEO is working to promote the protection of Europe's typical and important landscapes, as well as its many-faceted inheritance of geological phenomena, all of the greatest scientific and cultural importance. Europe was the birthplace of the science of geology. Its rocks, fossils, minerals and landforms have inspired the great figures of World geology over the last two centuries. They are still an inspiration to modern researchers and students at all levels, and have a fascination for a wider public. Our knowledge of the Earth – of the landscapes around us, of volcanic activity and of the building of mountains, of the evolution of life, of the ascent of Man, and of the creation of all the mineral resources on which our culture depends – is based on an understanding of essential rock and landform localities. It is vital that this inheritance be conserved. |
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ProGEO is an association that is open to all, and most of Europe's nations are represented by members. ProGEO is the beginning of a truly international and democratic body which has the capacity and the legitimate right to speak for involved in geoconservation in Europe: it is thus the only body of its kind. The inspiration of the First International Symposium at Digne in 1991 provided a great momentum for the developing cause of European Earth-science conservation, and an ethos to underpin the day-to-day efforts of ProGEO and all in the field, in the form of the Digne Declaration. The Second International Symposium, ProGEO '96, was held in Rome in 1996, the third in Madrid in 1999, the fourth in Braga, Portugal in 2005 and the fifth in Rab, Croatia in 2008.
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| Earth-science conservation in Europe is, comparatively, still weak. ProGEO intends to give it a stronger voice, and to act as a forum for the discussion of issues, advising and influencing policy makers. It will assist fellow workers in those states where conservation initiatives need our support. ProGEO provides the only focus for the many individuals and organisations who have been proclaiming the need for greater conservation efforts to protect our irreplaceable heritage. In the last year ProGEO has contributed substantially to the new Pan European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy, which now fully recognises the importance of geology and physical landscapes, and it has forged an alliance with the International Union of Geological Sciences and UNESCO for whom it is compiling a European inventory for the GEOSITES project. |
