Inventory and Quantitative Assessment of Geosites in the Southern Sector of the Island of Malta
The island of Malta, despite its small size, boasts a great variety of landscapes and landforms, offering a wide range of geological and geomorphological features of great interest. The identification and assessment of geosites can contribute to the preservation, protection, and promotion of this ri...
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MDPI AG
2024-11-01
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| author | Martina Possenelli Ritienne Gauci Stefano Devoto Lidia Selmi Paola Coratza Vittoria Vandelli |
| author_facet | Martina Possenelli Ritienne Gauci Stefano Devoto Lidia Selmi Paola Coratza Vittoria Vandelli |
| author_sort | Martina Possenelli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The island of Malta, despite its small size, boasts a great variety of landscapes and landforms, offering a wide range of geological and geomorphological features of great interest. The identification and assessment of geosites can contribute to the preservation, protection, and promotion of this rich geodiversity. In addition, geosites have a high potential of attracting geotourists, thus also contributing to the development of the local economy. Tourism plays a key role for the Maltese Islands, with Malta’s tourism direct contribution to GDP being among the highest in Europe. Thus, geotourism could represent a significant resource for Malta, though it has yet to receive the attention and recognition it deserves. Within this framework, this work aims to highlight the role of geoheritage and geotourism as potential resources for the enhancement of sustainable tourism and geoconservation in the southern sector of Malta. This region of Malta receives less visitors compared with the northern sector of the island, which is popular for its sandy beaches. To this end, potential geosites were inventoried and quantitatively assessed using a commonly applied methodology tailored to the local setting. The results of this evaluation let to identify 18 potential geosites that can be recognized as both parts of the Maltese natural heritage and tourist resources. Among these 18 sites, we identified four priority geosites which could be incorporated into a potential geotourism route to also highlight the valuable elements of the cultural heritage located in the vicinity. Moreover, the assessment methodology, applied for the first time in the investigated area, has proven to be a valuable support for geosite identification and can be extended to other Maltese regions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fa603e4be26d4f709df2521c4e7c6a95 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2076-3263 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geosciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-fa603e4be26d4f709df2521c4e7c6a952025-08-20T02:28:05ZengMDPI AGGeosciences2076-32632024-11-01141129210.3390/geosciences14110292Inventory and Quantitative Assessment of Geosites in the Southern Sector of the Island of MaltaMartina Possenelli0Ritienne Gauci1Stefano Devoto2Lidia Selmi3Paola Coratza4Vittoria Vandelli5Department of Mathematics, Informatics and Geosciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, ItalyDepartment of Geography, Faculty of Arts, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, MaltaDepartment of Mathematics, Informatics and Geosciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, ItalyDepartment of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, ItalyDepartment of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, ItalyDepartment of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, ItalyThe island of Malta, despite its small size, boasts a great variety of landscapes and landforms, offering a wide range of geological and geomorphological features of great interest. The identification and assessment of geosites can contribute to the preservation, protection, and promotion of this rich geodiversity. In addition, geosites have a high potential of attracting geotourists, thus also contributing to the development of the local economy. Tourism plays a key role for the Maltese Islands, with Malta’s tourism direct contribution to GDP being among the highest in Europe. Thus, geotourism could represent a significant resource for Malta, though it has yet to receive the attention and recognition it deserves. Within this framework, this work aims to highlight the role of geoheritage and geotourism as potential resources for the enhancement of sustainable tourism and geoconservation in the southern sector of Malta. This region of Malta receives less visitors compared with the northern sector of the island, which is popular for its sandy beaches. To this end, potential geosites were inventoried and quantitatively assessed using a commonly applied methodology tailored to the local setting. The results of this evaluation let to identify 18 potential geosites that can be recognized as both parts of the Maltese natural heritage and tourist resources. Among these 18 sites, we identified four priority geosites which could be incorporated into a potential geotourism route to also highlight the valuable elements of the cultural heritage located in the vicinity. Moreover, the assessment methodology, applied for the first time in the investigated area, has proven to be a valuable support for geosite identification and can be extended to other Maltese regions.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/14/11/292geoheritagegeotourismcoastal geomorphologyBlue GrottoIl-Maqluba sinkhole |
| spellingShingle | Martina Possenelli Ritienne Gauci Stefano Devoto Lidia Selmi Paola Coratza Vittoria Vandelli Inventory and Quantitative Assessment of Geosites in the Southern Sector of the Island of Malta Geosciences geoheritage geotourism coastal geomorphology Blue Grotto Il-Maqluba sinkhole |
| title | Inventory and Quantitative Assessment of Geosites in the Southern Sector of the Island of Malta |
| title_full | Inventory and Quantitative Assessment of Geosites in the Southern Sector of the Island of Malta |
| title_fullStr | Inventory and Quantitative Assessment of Geosites in the Southern Sector of the Island of Malta |
| title_full_unstemmed | Inventory and Quantitative Assessment of Geosites in the Southern Sector of the Island of Malta |
| title_short | Inventory and Quantitative Assessment of Geosites in the Southern Sector of the Island of Malta |
| title_sort | inventory and quantitative assessment of geosites in the southern sector of the island of malta |
| topic | geoheritage geotourism coastal geomorphology Blue Grotto Il-Maqluba sinkhole |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/14/11/292 |
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