Abstract. The Montesinho Natural Park (MNP), with an area of about 750 km2, is one of the largest protected areas in Portugal. Since its inauguration as a natural park in 1979, geological and geomorphological aspects have not been taken into consideration in its nature conservation policies. Over the last few years, this deficit has been compensated with an assessment of its geomorphological heritage. The assessment was made possible due to a research project on the geological heritage of the natural parks of north-eastern Portugal.The assessment method propagated herein proposes a clear definition of three types of geomorphosites: Single places, geomorphological areas or panoramic viewpoints. Further, it proposes as two-staged approach to assessment with inventory compilation followed by quantification of value. Inventory compilation, for example, involves the identification and qualitative assessment of potential geomorphosites and, therefore, the selection and characterization of geomorphosites. The quantification stage includes the numerical assessment of sites and their final ranking. The values are numerically assessed using selected criteria. The implementation of this approach in the MNP led to the identification of 154 potential geomorphosites, of which only 26 were selected after the qualitative assessment or characterisation process. The numerical assessment of the sites and their ranking allowed a final selection of 13 sites for public use.

In 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) aiming to achieve a better world for the entire human population. In spite of the fact that human development is dependent on nature and its resources, the non-living (abiotic) natural resources and processes are persistently neglected in international and national policies that foster sustainable development. This paper reviews the geodiversity concept and makes the links with well-established concepts and strategies, namely the ones related with natural capital and ecosystem services, to demonstrate that the UN SDG can only be achieved if the elements and processes of geodiversity are definitely considered in the global agenda.

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Geodiversity is a recent concept that refers to the abiotic variety of nature. It is defined as the range of geological (rocks, minerals, fossils), geomorphological (landforms, processes) and soil features, including their assemblages, relationships, properties, interpretation and systems. In this work, a method of quantitative assessment of geodiversity was applied to the Xingu drainage basin (Amazônia -Brazil). The method is based on the quantification and integration of abiotic features represented on thematic maps at scales ranging from 1:250,000 to 1:2,500,000, overlaid by a 1:25,000 systematic grid. In order to calculate the final geodiversity index, five partial numerical indices representing the main components of geodiversity were drawn compiled: geology, geomorphology, soil, palaeontology and mineral occurrences. The resulting Geodiversity Index map is presented in the form of five isoline classes. The objective of this method is to present such a mapping technique as a tool for environmental planning, particularly for the identification and definition of priority areas for conservation.