Geodiversity in Khorat Geopark, Thailand: Approaches to geoconservation and sustainable development

Abstract

This work aims to investigate the geodiversity of the Khorat Geopark area, Northeastern Thailand, and assess the geological sites that are connected to biological and cultural heritage, as well as community activities that enhance geoconservation and sustainable development. The geological diversity of Khorat Geopark dates back to the late Jurassic period and continues to the present day, resulting from the deposition of terrestrial sedimentary rocks from the Khorat Group. The Khorat rock group has been uplifted and eroded to form the Khorat Plateau with a unique landscape and important geological features of the cuesta landform on the western part of the Khorat Geopark. On the four corners of Nakhon Ratchasima City, there are numerous fossils of outstanding Early Cretaceous dinosaurs and other reptiles and Cenozoic fossils of both flora and fauna, mainly mammalian remains and, in particular, ancient elephants. Geological sites in the Khorat Geopark area were weighted and scored based on their scientific value (SV), potential value for education (EV), potential value for tourism (TV), and degradation risk variables (DV). According to the assessment, the Khorat Geopark's 24 geosites are of moderate to high value, with 7 sites having 301–400 scores and 5 sites having a high level of international value. Most of them are related to fossils and cuestas. Thus, the fossil diversity of the Khorat Geopark is of international scientific significance. Khorat Geopark is managed under the conservation, education, and sustainable development initiatives using a bottom-up method with multiple networks, both local communities and local governments, especially through the Home-Temple-School (HTS) model.