Relative Sea-Level Fluctuations and Associated Fossiliferous Limestone of Cenozoic Successions of Western Kutch, India: An Aspiring Geoheritage Site of National Importance

Kutch basin is a nature’s museum of unique and rare combinations of geological, paleontological, relative sea-level record, tectonics, geomorphology etc. is reputed among geologists across the country for past may decades. The basin preserves record of sedimentation for ~200 Ma with several stratigraphic breaks. The 900m thick sedimentation of Cenozoic is considered as a type section for the shallow-marine sedimentary record in India. This sedimentary succession acts as field museum for paleontology, stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, relative sea-level fluctuations and their correlation with global standard moreover, it is considered to be an outcrop analog for reservoir rocks of giant oil fields of India (Mumbai High) located south of it. Unfortunately, in India we are losing these geological important sites because of lack of national policy, uncontrolled exploitation of earth-resources and negligence. The concept of Geoheritage site was conceived at International Symposium “Conservation of our Geological Heritage” Digne, France, 1991. The concept advocates the conservation of geologically important sites/locations and their morphology for further study, reference and conservation for coming generations. Geologically important sites are formed over millions of years and are precious; once we lose it by any means we lose it forever and cannot be restored artificially. The permanent loss is absolute because of insatiable thirst for earth-resources, is a root cause for direct/indirect damage/loss of geological sites. It is relatively a new concept sustainable and received attention by many countries in Europe. Many countries in Europe and China have the government policy to look after the geological sites and their conservation with the help of local agencies. Initiatives taken by UNESCO resulted in the development of 30 “Geo-Parks” in Europe, China is also planning to develop about 310 “Geo-Parks” in next 10 years. However; in India such concept is not in practice due to this we are losing our geological important sites at alarming rate. Taking inspiration from western countries India should immediately frame policy for conservation of geological sites under the aegis of Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and NITI Aayog, India in association with local government and social welfare groups. The geoheritage sites can be protected and preserved by creating “Geo-Parks” comprise of one or more geosites with museums and library in nearby locality. Currently Geological Survey of India (GSI) is the sole organization who steps up to conserve such sites, without government support; is likely to die its own fate without financial support . The geologically important sites should not be taken as a matter of economic resources only. Geology is field based science which cannot survive without field observation, its teaching and research will be highly hampered without field studies. Geoheritage and Geoparks will open doors for tourist destinations especially rural tourism and tourism circuit, job opportunities along with revenue generation, advance research facilities to scientists and exceptional recreational activities for the visitors. These sites would serve as invaluable heritage of national and international importance for the current and future generations and better understanding of the past and present. It is our prime duty to transfer the knowledge and geoheritage to the future generations.