Geosite and Geomorphosite Assessment as a Tool for Geoconservation and Geotourism Purposes: a Case Study from Vizovická vrchovina Highland (Eastern Part of the Czech Republic)

The geoheritage of the Czech Republic presents a basis for geoconservation and geotourism activities which have a long tradition in the region. Sites of geological and geomorphological interest have been appreciated for a long time, and from the nineteenth century, some have been de clared as protected. The first official list of protected sites was created during the 1930s, and in 1956, the first law on nature conservation was approved. Today, nature conservation is covered by the Act 1141992 Coll. that enables landscapes, karst features, minerals, and fossils to be protected as well as the establishment of protected areas. In addition, there are many other geoconservation assessments, e.g., the database of the geological sites or the network of the national geoparks. In the National Parks, Protected Landscape Areas or geoparks, the promotion of geosites and geomorphosites is well devel oped. However, outside these areas, the promotion and use of sites for geotourism purposes is relatively poor, although it is obvious that they can represent a source for geotourism activ ities that can foster local economic development. For finding out which sites are suitable for geotourism development, a simple method was proposed and the selected sites of the Vizovická vrchovina Highland (Czech Republic) were assessed. Based on this, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats were identified. The assessment and the following analysis of the area can serve as a basis for the future proposals for geotourist use of the sites.

Geosite and Geomorphosite Assessment as a Tool for Geoconservation and Geotourism Purposes: a Case Study from Vizovická vrchovina Highland

(Eastern Part of the Czech Republic)

Article  in   Geoheritage · January 2016

DOI: 10.1007/s12371-015-0143-2

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Received: 31 July 2014 / Accepted: 25 January 2015 / Published online: 5 February 2015

# The European Association for Conservation of the Geological Heritage 2015

Abstract The geoheritage of the Czech Republic presents a

basis for geoconservation and geotourism activities which

have a long tradition in the region Sites of geological and

geomorphological interest have been appreciated for a long

time, and from the nineteenth century, some have been

de-clared as protected The first official list of protected sites

was created during the 1930s, and in 1956, the first law on

nature conservation was approved Today, nature conservation

karst features, minerals, and fossils to be protected as well as

the establishment of protected areas In addition, there are

many other geoconservation assessments, e.g., the database

of the geological sites or the network of the national geoparks

In the National Parks, Protected Landscape Areas or geoparks,

the promotion of geosites and geomorphosites is well

devel-oped However, outside these areas, the promotion and use of

sites for geotourism purposes is relatively poor, although it is

obvious that they can represent a source for geotourism

activ-ities that can foster local economic development For finding

out which sites are suitable for geotourism development, a

simple method was proposed and the selected sites of the

Vizovická vrchovina Highland (Czech Republic) were

assessed Based on this, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities

and threats were identified The assessment and the following

analysis of the area can serve as a basis for the future proposals

for geotourist use of the sites

Keywords Geotourism Geoconservation Geosite and geomorphosite assessment Vizovická vrchovina Highland SWOT analysis

Introduction Visiting natural sites that are important from the geological or geomorphological point of view has been practised for a long

people who are looking for the deeper experience of the vis-ited site or area is growing; these visitors want to know more about the site or area and related issues (in the case of the geosites and geomorphosites, this information should cover not only Earth sciences but also historical, archaeological, ecological or artistic aspects of the site), and in the case that

an area or a site is protected, they wish to understand why Of course, they also expect a good quality of support services such as safe and well-marked paths, information services (leaflets, information panels, guided tours etc.), accommoda-tion, transport facilities and catering and they expect that there will be an opportunity to buy products that are typical for the area, whether it is a local food, drink or handicraft product These factors contribute to the development of sustainable forms of tourism (especially geotourism), and they can help

There are several definitions of geotourism; probably, the

Geotourism is sustainable tourism with a primary focus on experiencing the Earth’s geologic features in a way that fosters environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation and conservation and is locally beneficial Geotourism product

Institute of Geonics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic,

v.v.i Branch Brno, Drobného 28, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic

e-mail: LucieKubalikova@seznam.cz

K Kirchner

e-mail: Kirchner@geonika.cz

Geoheritage (2016) 8:5–14

DOI 10.1007/s12371-015-0143-2

Geosite and Geomorphosite Assessment as a Tool

for Geoconservation and Geotourism Purposes: a Case Study

from Vizovická vrchovina Highland (Eastern

Part of the Czech Republic)

protects, communicates and promotes geoheritage, helps build

communities and works with a wide range of different people

It is obvious that geology and geomorphology form an

essential resource for geotourism activities Reynard et al

geomorphology and tourism: geomorphology may be a tourist

resource as part of the primary or original offer

(geomorpho-logical site as an attraction or geomorpho(geomorpho-logical site as a

sup-port for tourist activity) and a secondary or derived offer, when

tourist infrastructures (e.g didactic trails), instruments (e.g

educational booklets) or services (e.g guided tours) are

also stated that geodiversity is of great value for geotouristic

and geoeducational activities—it is one of the functions of

geodiversity; however, it is evident that geodiversity as a

whole cannot be used for geotourism purposes; and tourist

use of geodiversity is generally made through the exploitation

as they often increase the attractiveness of the geosites and

geomorphosites

Past and Present of Geoconservation and Geotourism

in the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is geologically and geomorphologically

very diverse; within its area, nearly all the geological periods

and a considerable number of the landforms types can be

some geosites and geomorphosites were frequently visited

and they became traditional touristic destinations, e g

Pravčická brána, a natural sandstone arch in the Czech

The first attempts to protect nature in the Czech countries

were linked to the protection of forests, wood and game, and

they appeared already during the Middle Ages Later, in the

nineteenth century (the period of the Romantic Movement),

geological and geomorphological sites were also finally found

went to nature and they admired its wilderness and purity This

fact is reflected in the art (e g the painting of Antonín Mánes:

Landscape with Kokořín castle in the storm)

forest in the Novohradské Mountains (established in 1838,

Bgeological^ protected site was the Barrand Rock in Prague

declared in 1884 (now a part of the Barrand Rocks National

Natural Monument) In 1893, other sites were declared as

and Vrkoč near Ústí nad Labem—both sites display columnar

and twentieth century, other geological and geomorphological

Lípa (1895, a gorge in sandstones today a part of the National

Mountains (1904, mountain ridges with tors and isolated rocks—the oldest reservation in Moravia, today

Mikulov (in around 1917, Jurassic limestone cliff, today

However, these protected sites were private and there was no

In 1919, soon after the establishment of the independent

established This group (usually university professors, scien-tists, but also local patriots and teachers) was asked to look for

they started to act, there were only 23 private nature reserves;

in 1938, there were 160 nature monuments and reserves all

most important step forward was the New Year’s Eve Decree, the first official list of the protected nature monuments It was published in 1933 and it comprised 108 sites from Czechia, 18 sites from Slovakia and 12 sites from Carpathian Ruthenia The list included forest areas, wildlife areas and geological

legis-lative protection, there had already been some proposals for a law for the protection of the nature in 1922, but none was accepted, so protection was still unsystematic (Vrška and

1956 Coll.) was adopted It defined several categories of ter-ritorial protection (National Park, Protected Landscape Area (PLA), State Natural Reservation, Protected Deposit, Protected Park or Garden, Protected Study Area, Protected Natural Monument), and it enabled the protection of minerals, fossils and rock formations However, the law was very

one of the oldest protected nature monuments in the Czech countries, declared already in 1893 The typical columnar jointing of the basalts is well visible (photo J Riezner)

Bbenevolent^ and allowed a number of exceptions in relation

to agricultural, industrial, mining and construction activities

Cases of total destruction of natural phenomena were not rare,

some geologically and geomorphologically important sites

were damaged or they even disappeared, e.g the

canyon-like valley of the Jihlava River (flooded by the dams

Dalešice and Mohelno) or some karst areas which disappeared

due to limestone quarrying (e.g the destruction of the karst

system at Lažánky area northwest from Brno)

After the social and political changes of 1989, the situation

Coll.) was adopted Currently, this law is the main legislative

tool governing the protection of nature, it comprises territorial

protection, species protection and general protection and it

enables landscapes, karst features, minerals and fossils to be

protected There are six levels of the territorial protection:

National Park (NP), Protected Landscape Area (PLA),

National Natural Reservation (NNR), National Natural

Monument (NNM), Natural Reservation (NR) and Natural

Monument (NM) In July 2014, 2519 sites and areas were

protected

Important geological and geomorphological sites are

usu-ally protected as National Natural Monuments or Natural

Monuments, although some NNR and NR with important

geological or geomorphological phenomena were declared

too Natural Monuments, or National Natural Monuments

are defined as a natural part of an area, in particular a

geolog-ical or geomorphologgeolog-ical formation, deposits of rare minerals

or place of occurrence of endangered species in fragmented

ecosystems, having a regional, national or international

envi-ronmental, scientific or aesthetic importance, including

forma-tions which were formed by the human activity (articles 35

Within general nature conservation, a considerable number

of natural outcrops, river valleys or alluvial flood plains are

protected in the category of Significant Landscape

Component; the landforms and landscapes of larger scale are

protected in the category of Natural Parks In these sites and

areas special conditions apply in relation to the water

The administrations of National Parks and Protected

Landscape Areas have developed a wide offer of interpretation

facilities and services concerning geoheritage which is also

very rich and wide (e.g geological paths in Czech Karst, guided

tours in Podyjí National Park) All administrations develop

vis-itor centres where visvis-itors can gain knowledge about the nature

of the area It is frequent that administrations cooperate with

local museums, local and regional authorities and other

institu-tions and associainstitu-tions, both public and non-governmental (e.g

the Czech Geological Survey, Agency for Nature Conservation,

Czech Union for Nature Conservation)

In the Czech Republic, the National Geoparks Network (or

NGN), linked to the European Geopark Network, is

established The National Geoparks Network is coordinated

by the National Geoparks Committee which consists of ex-perts from different branches (geoscientists, economists, ped-agogues etc.) Any territory associated in some way with a significant geoheritage can become a member of the NGN

Charter of National Geoparks (http://www.geology.cz/ narodnigeoparky/o-siti) and The Directive of the Ministry of

criteria for establishing national geoparks as well as criteria for the temporary status of candidate geopark Today, there are six

rytířů and Podbeskydí The candidate geoparks are Vysočina, Ralsko, Jeseníky and the Geopark of J Barrande There are also another two potential areas: Krkonoše and Broumovsko

A remarkable geoconservation project that can be used for

Localities(more than 2800 sites in July 2014) that is main-tained and updated by the Czech Geological Survey Geoscientific characteristics, the degree of protection and con-flicts of interest are given for every site The database is open and anyone can propose a new geosite or update the

geology.cz/).The Database of Speleological Objects is run

by the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic

Methods The geological and geomorphological heritage within the geoparks, National Parks and Protected Landscape Areas (and also within some small-scale protected areas) is well known and promoted However, there are many sites outside the protected areas and geoparks that are locally important not only from the geoscience point of view but also from the historical or cultural point of view These sites can represent the source for geotourism activities that can foster the local economic development and as the legends, myths, cultural and historical events are usually linked to those sites, the sites play an important role in local identity

Nevertheless, a visitor is not usually attracted only by geo-logical and geomorphogeo-logical aspects of the site—a suitable infrastructure (e.g marked paths, transport, accommodation), information facilities (e.g leaflets, information panels, promo-tion of the site via internet) and cultural and historical aspects

of the site also play an important role To know which site is suitable for geotourism purposes, a simple assessment method was proposed

This method is based on the analysis of the principles and definitions of geotourism (e.g National Geographic Society

2005; Dowling and Newsome2010; Martini et al.2012; Hose

the geotourism are represented by integrity of place,

interna-tional codes, market selectivity and diversity, tourist

satisfac-tion, community involvement and benefit, protection and

en-hancement of destination appeal, land use and planning,

con-servation of resources, interactive interpretation and

geological-ly based, environmentalgeological-ly educative, tourist satisfaction,

sus-tainable, locally beneficial The geomorphosite approach also

emphasises added values (e.g cultural, historical, ecological

aspects of a site)

Leading on from the above, five groups of criteria which

should be included in geosite and geomorphosite assessment

1 Criteria which consider an assessment of the scientific and

intrinsic values (diversity, understood as a number of

in-teresting geomorphological features which are present at

under-stood also as number of landforms present at the site

geological and geomorphological features and processes,

the scientific knowledge of the site)—based on the

2 Criteria which consider an assessment of the

exem-plarity and pedagogical potential of the site (clarity

and visibility of geological and geomorphological

fea-tures and processes, the availability of the products

that support education: leaflets, guided tours, maps,

trails, information panels, information centres)—based

Binter-active interpretation and evaluation^ This is probably

the most important group of criteria as educational or

cognitive aspects appear in most of the definitions of

geotourism

3 Criteria which consider an assessment of accessibility of

the site and the presence of tourist infrastructure

benefi-cial^, Bmarket selectivity and diversity^, Bcommunity

of criteria as new definitions and new approaches

the involvement of local people

4 Criteria which consider an assessment of the existing threats and risks, assessing conservation activities or

5 Criteria which consider an assessment of the added values (ecological, cultural, historic, archaeological, artistic, reli-gious value of a site, aesthetic, landscape and scenic val-ue)—according to the definition of the National

only the natural aspects but cultural and aesthetic aspects

also includes these added values which are important for

geosite and geomorphosite assessment in the study area Some criteria and their assessment are based on Kubalíková

area or of each site can be done to get the overview of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the sites

The Study Area Vizovická vrchovina Highland is situated on the eastern part

of the Czech Republic on the border with Slovakia Geologically, it belongs to the Flysch complex of the Outer Western Carpathians The area is a part of Magura Flysch Belt (Rača tectonic unit) that is formed of alternating layers of claystones and sandstones of Mesozoic and Paleogene age The area is characterised by a largely dissected relief of high-lands and mountain ranges with intervening deep valleys and

Highland and is known as the Komonecká hornatina Mountains

The area is built by Paleogene Flysch rocks of the Zlín Formation and the Soláň Formation of the Rača tectonic unit

of the Magura Flysch Belt The central part of the area is formed of the geomorphological district Klášťovský hřbet Ridge which reaches the altitude around 700 m a.s.l (Vrátnice 683 m, Krajčice 730 m, Kopce 699 m), and it is drained by the Senice River (left tributary of the Vsetínská Bečva River) Bedrock consists mainly of coarse grained

kameny—anticli-nal zone with the anticlikameny—anticli-nal position of Flysch strata The dif-ferent rock resistance and the conditions of the strata position influence the structural-denudational relief of the Klášťovský

hillslopes, isolated boulder accumulations, landslides and

sandstone outcrops where the large amount of the mezoforms

and microforms can be seen (pseudokarst caves, honeycomb

weathering etc.) At the alluvial plain of the Senice River, the

on the detailed fieldwork, six representative sites were

select-ed for detailselect-ed analysis:

Site 1: Kopce pseudokarst caves

The site is located in a landslide area and includes

both crevice-type pseudokarst caves and a rocky

landslide (with dimensions of 200×250 m which is quite unique within the area) that are both of

pseudokarst caves created thanks to the deep seated landslide, the biggest of them reaches the depth of

of the caves are covered by calcareous sinter The site has also a high added value due to the presence of a cultural-historic component (remnants of Bronze Age settlement nearby—a quartz wall) and a geomythological aspect (existence of various legends connected to the caves—especially about the trea-sures hidden by bandits) As the caverns are home

also has a high ecological value

Site 2: Devil’s rocks/Čertovy skály

The unique structural-denudation rocky rampart is formed of vertical sandstone layers The crag is di-vided into several regular blocks and along a system

of fissures some small pseudokarst caverns have formed The total length of the wall is around

250 m; the height reaches 25 m Its width in its upper part is around 3 m The surface of this rocky rampart

is covered by various microforms typical for sand-stone weathering (honeycombs, tafoni, weathering pits) The site is protected by the law in the category

of Natural Monument (the year of declaration was 1966) The cultural and historical aspect of the site

is also very important—there are many myths

(most-ly connected to the devil’s activities) and aesthetical aspects of the site are also very significant (the wall dominates the surrounding landscape) The site is presented in various tourist guides and it is used by the climbers which brings some problems (e.g rope traces, surface abrasion)

Site 3: Láz

This site has the character of a frost cliff (3 m high and 50 m long), and it is built by quartzose sand-stones It was formed by cryogenic and gravitational processes, and it exhibits many interesting

w e a t h e r i n g p he n o m en a su c h h on e y c o m b s , weathering pits and tunnels The typical features for this site are spherical cavities (maximal dimensions

The cliff is divided by fissures with a north–south direction Along these fissures, some deep clints are developed (maximum depth is 0.4 m, maximum width 0.6 m, length around 10 m) On the western part, on the top of the frost cliff, there are several weathering pits; the biggest is filled with water and has a diameter of 0.6 m On the eastern part of the cliff, there is a tunnel leading into the rock (length of

3 m, diameter of 0.75 m) The nearly entire surface of

geomorphosites for the geotourism purposes (for every criterion, a

value from 0 to 1 can be attributed)

1 Scientific and

intrinsic values

1.a Earth-science importance and rarity of the site (number of similar sites in the study area, local/

regional/national/international significance of the site)

1.b Scientific knowledge of the site (existing scientific papers, monographies) 1.c Morphology, diversity of the site (diversity of

present at the site, both macro and micro scale)

2 Educational values 2.a Exemplarity and representativeness of the site

(clarity and visibility of the features and processes, the site ’s intelligibility to the public, possibility of explaining the corresponding processes)

2.b Presence of educational facilities (leaflets, web pages, information panels, guided tours, specialised excursions for students)

3 Economical values 3.a Number, distance and quality of tourist

services (existing tourist facilities—

accommodation, restaurants, shops, information centres)

3.b Accessibility (by individual and public transport, possibility of parking)

4 Conservation

values

4.a Conservation activities (legal protection, proposals for legal protection, other types of protection)

4.b Risks and threats to the site (both natural and anthropogenic)

4.c Current status of the site, the level of disturbance or degradation, existing management measures to avoid the damage of the site

5.b Ecological value (relationships to living

the relationships between the landform and ecosystem

colours, structure of the space, viewpoints

the cliff is covered by microforms of honeycomb

weathering Thus, this site is very rich in the

meso-and microforms which represent its most valuable

features (e.g the tunnel leading into the cliff is a

unique mesoform within the study area) Near this

site, a scout camp is situated

Site 4: Horní skály

A morphologically significant frost cliff is

devel-oped in Paleogene quartzose sandstones and

con-glomerates The cliff is stretches in a north-eastern–

south-western direction and has a south-eastern ex-tension Its length is around 90 m and height up to 10.5 m The cliff is covered by a large number of the typical weathering microforms (especially honey-comb weathering and tafoni with a depth of 0.5 m) Other typical features are represented by weathering pits with maximum diameter of 0.3 m and maximum depth of 0.25 m On the base of the cliff, there are several niches (abri) Other important mesoforms of the site are represented by pseudokarst fissure cave (depth 3.2 m, width 1.6 m, height 1.5 m) and a cryoplanation terrace with blocks of sandstones which documents the cryogenic processes on the site The frost cliff is used by the climbers and hence pro-vides a resource for recreational activities; the sand-stones suffer from these activities, however

Site 5: Dolní skály

slope of Vrátnice hill has a length of 70 m and its height oscillates between 6 and 14 m The cliff was created by cryogenic and gravitational processes; on the south-western part, there is also evidence of the influence of fluvial processes The cliff is exposed to the south-west, it is divided into several blocks by

Fig 2 The position of the study

area within the Czech Republic

and its geological context

(adapted from the Czech

Geological Survey)

Fig 3 Spherical cavities are typical of sandstone outcrops in the area,

this one being at Láz (photo K Kirchner)

fissures and it is covered by a large number of the

typical weathering microforms (especially

honey-comb weathering), some having a character of

spher-ical cavities (or tafoni) with the depth of up to 0.7 m

The cavities are arranged along the main fissures and

their large number makes this site unique within the

area of interest Other unique mesoform is

represent-ed by the small gorge (also unique in this area)

de-veloped on the south-western part of the site where

the frost cliff meets the channel of a mountain creek

Both Horní skály (site no 4) and Dolní skály (site no

5) were already visited by scouts and hikers in the

1930s and 1940s

Site 6: Senice meanders

This site represents fluvial phenomena within the

study area and documents an interaction between

ver-tical and lateral channel erosion and river channel

migration In the past, the alluvial plains have been

affected by human activity, so they are relatively rare

today The studied section is approximately 500 m

long and the bedrock comprises the Palaeogene

Újezd Layers where sandstones and claystones

pre-dominate The sections where the mountain river

en-ters into the alluvial plain is especially valuable

be-cause it creates the initial bend and then starts to

meander and bank erosion and lateral shift of the

river channel still operates An important and unique

geomorphological feature of this site is dynamic

lat-eral erosion which undercuts the shores and then

ex-poses sediments Regular natural flooding is also

typ-ical in this area; this process influences the water

regime, soils and ecosystems in the alluvial plain—

hence, the site also has a relatively high ecological

value Within the site, the results of natural processes

and different stages of the development of turns and

meanders can be observed Some morphologically

remarkable mesoforms in the alluvial plain (e.g rem-nants of oxbow lakes or abandoned meanders) are proof of the natural migration and shift of the river channel in the past This area has a very high educa-tional and scientific value (especially because of the potential for palaeogeographic reconstructions)

Results The results of the preliminary assessment (Kirchner and

The highest scientific values were reached by the Kopce pseudokarst caves and the Senice meanders due to the pres-ence of features that are rare within the area of interest (Kopce) and due to the presence of actual processes (fluvial erosion at Senice meanders) The highest educational value was reached

by the Devil’s rocks due to the existence of educational mate-rial and the good visibility and clarity of the geoscience fea-tures present The other two sites also evaluated well

especial-ly due to the exemplarity of the landform (Senice meanders, a possibility of observing natural fluvial erosion and typical fluvial landforms both in the channel and in the alluvial plain; Kopce typical and well-visible pseudokarst caves) Economical value was the same for all the sites because they are accessible by tourist paths and tourist infrastructure in the area is the same for all the sites as the study area is quite small The conservation value included both legal protection and

is protected under the law, its score is not so high because of the climbing activities that disturb the site and also because of the larger number of the visitors that damage the outcrop The site of Kopce is protected by law and as there are not so intensive threats, it reached the highest score The relatively high score of the Horní skály and Dolní skály is due to the lower number of the visitors The highest added value was obtained by the Devil’s Rocks in particular due to its geomythological aspect and a high aesthetical value In the

Fig 4 The frost cliff of Dolní skály The rock wall is divided into several

blocks by fissures and it is covered by the large number of the typical

weathering microforms, especially honeycomb weathering (photo K.

Kirchner)

Name of the site/

group of the values

rocks

skály

Dolní skály

Senice meanders

2 Educational values

3 Ecomonical values

4 Conservation values

case of the Kopce site, the most important added values were

represented by ecological and historical values

The highest total score was reached by the sites of Kopce,

Devil’s rocks and Senice meanders These sites are not only

important from the scientific point of view, but they also have

a significant educational potential (Kopce and Senice

mean-ders) and important added values (Kopce and Devil’s rocks)

From these examples, it can be seen that sites suitable for

g e o t o u r i s m s h o u l d b e n o t o n l y g e o l o g i c a l l y a n d

geomorphologically valuable, but they should also include

some added values to support their selection as potential sites

for the development of the geotourism

The assessment helped to identify the strong and weak

points of the sites, and it facilitated the recognition of the

opportunities and threats that could be linked to the sites

These aspects are summarised in a SWOT analysis which

was carried out for the whole area of interest:

Strengths

– A considerable number of various types of landforms

(cryogenic, gravitational and fluvial landforms, a large

diversity of small weathering forms)

– Study area is a part of Natural park Vizovické vrchy (a

category within the general protection of nature)

– Legal protection (Natural Monuments) of the sites Kopce

and Devil’s Rocks (a category within the territorial

pro-tection of nature)

– High ecological value of some localities (especially

Kopce pseudokarst caves)

– Nature/historical trail Vařákovy paseky goes through

study area

– High cultural, geomythological, archaeological and

his-torical value (remnants of the Bronze Age settlement near

the site Kopce, plenty of myths about rock forms)

– Sandstone rock forms are attractive for climbers

(espe-cially Devil’s Rocks)

– Existing networks of hiking trails

– All the sites are recorded in a database of geological

localities

– Promotion of some sites in various tourist guides and

internet (especially Devil’s Rocks, partly Kopce)

– High potential for education (especially Senice meanders)

– Regular scheduled transport (bus, train)

– The sites are situated within walking distance from the

places of tourist infrastructure

Weaknesses

– Poor accessibility of some sites: Dolní skály, Horní skály,

Senice meanders

– Legislative protection needed at the site of Senice

meanders

– Intensive climbing activity on Devil’s Rocks damages the small weathering features and leaves traces from ropes Opportunities

– Promotion of geoheritage can increase the attractiveness

of the territory and bring the possibility of development of surrounding communities, it can partly help the economic development of the area

– Study area is suitable for school trips (presence of tourist infrastructure in short distance)

– Suitable terrain for walking – Possibility of using the scout camp near Láz for summer recreational activities

– Scout tradition (from 1930s and 1940s) as a new aspect of promotion of geotourist activities

– Possibility to suggest the site Senice meanders for legal protection (probably the category of Natural Monument

or Natural Reservation) – Geoscience path with informative panels that would pro-mote the geoheritage of the area

Threats – In the case of a greater promotion of the area and due to the resulting increase in attendance there can be a possi-bility of growing anthropogenic pressure on the sites (es-pecially climbers)

pseudokarst caves (site Kopce) – Lack of interest from the part of the local residents The assessment and the SWOT analysis can serve as a basis for the future proposals of geotouristic use of the sites and similar activities (promotion of the less known sites, giving the information about the geology, geomorphology and added aspects) However, it also depends on local communities (or local stakeholders), if they are open to this idea and,

obvious-ly, to the possibility of financing such activities (not only a one-time investment in construction of the geoscience path with informative panels, but also the long-term maintenance)

Conclusion The relatively long tradition and currently satisfactory condi-tions of the protection of the geological and geomorphological heritage in the Czech Republic can be considered as a good starting point for the future geoconservation and geotourism activities The promotion of geoheritage is managed by differ-ent organisations and institutions (e.g National Geoparks Network of the Czech Republic, Czech Geological Survey, the administrations of National Parks and Protected

Landscape Areas, Nature Conservation Agency of the

Czech Republic) which also provide a wide spectrum of

pro-motional activities and products related to geomorphological

heritage, especially guided walks, excursions and geological

educational trails However, in some cases, the promotion of

geoheritage, in comparison with the promotion of living

na-ture, is still low—and outside the territorially protected areas

(National Parks and Protected Landscape Areas) and

geoparks, the promotion of geoheritage is also poor although

the geodiversity of selected areas is relatively high

Geosites and geomorphosites of less-known areas can

serve as a resource for geotourist activities which can support

economical development which can help local communities

This case study from the Vizovická vrchovina Highland

proves that even sites outside of legally protected areas and

geoparks are still attractive and suitable for the geotourism

development This can be due to the educational value of the

site and the presence of a tourist infrastructure (including

transport, marked paths and other tourist services) Although

it is evident that the selected sites of the study area have a

potential for geotourism development, it also depends on the

interest of local communities and stakeholders and whether

they are willing to seize the opportunities which could bring

benefits for the area in the future

concep-tual development support of research organisation (Institute of Geonics,

Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i.) RVO: 68145535.

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