Geoconservation is a fairly new concept but one that is becoming more important in many areas of the world where urbanization is taking place. It has become evident that identifying and preserving geoantiquities is important for earth science and education, but also promotes the goals of environmental quality, resource management, and quality community growth. Despite a strong history of resource protection in the United States, it still lags behind many countries in development and implementation of geoconservation ideas and policies.

The study of foreign geoconservation efforts will be useful in articulating the concept of geoconservation and providing methods for identifying and evaluating geoantiquities. Major international efforts, and their associated successes and failures, provide conceptual and practical examples for geoconservation application in the U.S. Concepts and definitions underlying geoconservation must lay the groundwork for application of policy or simply identifying a community's resources.

A fault near Durban, South Africa, of Gondwana age. For more information on geoconservation in South Africa, visit this website, which was created as a result of attendance of the IGU conference in Durban, in August 2002.