Thread by @Geo_Sophist

🌏Today is #InternationalGeodiversityDay declared by UNESCO to recognise the importance of geosciences in solving the major challenges faced by humanity today.

So what does #geodiversity mean & how can #India better acknowledge & conserve its incredible #geoheritage?

Thread🧵

At present, #India classifies #geodiversity in different ways.

Here are some broad categories that may serve us well:

Geo-monuments, #fossil sites, archaeological sites, and landscapes - we've listed many sites under the first 3 categories, yet we need to do SO much more.

Here's an example from Gandikota, #AndhraPradesh.

There is no interpretation sign/infrastructure at the incredible canyon carved by the Penna river & the archaeological ruins, nor at the Belum limestone caves nearby:



#InternationalGeodiversityDay

Here are some other examples of #geodiversity from across #India, with natural or cultural value - some recognised & some undervalued.

We build statues & talk of celebrating our past, yet there is a million-/billion-year history buried within our geoheritage sites...

Especially, if viewed through the lens of landscapes.

The Rann of Kutch tells stories of the ebb & flow of the Indus river & the civilization that flourished/floundered along it.

Laterite plateaus talk of how rain alters the hardest of volcanic surfaces into a pitted moonscape.

#Geodiversity allows us to plumb stories at 3 different timescales: deep time, evolutionary time, and human history.

Every ~month, the #Geosophy newsletter tries to weave such stories about Earth & #India.

Interested?
Dig into the archives, or subscribe: devayanikh.com/geosophyexcerp…