Research paper

Managing palaeontological heritage: a brief overview of policy and practice in England

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JONATHAN G. LARWOOD
Natural England, Unex House, Bourges Boulevard, Peterborough, PE1 1NG, United Kingdom. jonathan.larwood@naturalengland.org.uk
Corresponding author

COLIN D. PROSSER
Natural England, Unex House, Bourges Boulevard, Peterborough, PE1 1NG, United Kingdom. colin.prosser@naturalengland.org.uk

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ABSTRACT

Fossil collecting for scientific and educational reasons, as well as to support natural curiosity, has taken place in England since at least the late eighteenth century. It was not, however, until the late nineteenth, and particularly the mid-twentieth century, that site-based conservation of palaeontological heritage, and the management of collecting, was established. This paper provides a brief overview of the development of the policy and practice of palaeontological heritage management in England. It includes an outline of the establishment of national legislation, and a summary of the practical approaches to managing palaeontological sites and the collection of fossils that have been adopted. A number of examples are used to illustrate the application of this approach in diff erent circumstances, including the coastal and quarrying environments.

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Key words: Palaeontology, fossil collecting, geoconservation, legislation, site management.

How to cite: Larwood, J.G. & Prosser, C.D. 2019. Managing palaeontological heritage: a brief overview of policy and practice in England. [Gestión del patrimonio paleontológico: una breve revisión de la política y la práctica en Inglaterra]. Spanish Journal of Palaeontology, 34 (1), 57-64.

Received 14 February 2019, Accepted 30 April 2019, Published 30 June 2019

https://doi.org/10.7203/sjp.34.1.15250

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