Geodiversity and Geoheritage Values in the Rural Territories for Evolving Geotourism and Sustainable Approach: an Example from Dakhla Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt

Abstract The Oases of the Western Desert in Egypt hold sundry and valuable geoheritage landscapes that have scientific, educational, aesthetic, geotouristic and cultural worth, whereas the Dakhla Oasis is the largest of the five oases, West of River Nile. The Dakhla’s Oasis is home to remarkable geological, historical, and cultural phenomena with its plethora of heritage sites that are related to stratigraphic, geomorphological, paleontological, hydrological, and archaeological features alongside rock categories fluctuating in age from Upper Cretaceous to lower Paleocene. This Dakhla’s geodiversity permits the visitors and tourists to see various geological wonders and practice tourism amenities such as ecological, recreational, safari, mountains, mining, cultural, religious, health, educational, and agro-tourism. Then, the present work aims to offer a systematic characterization and quantitative assessment of potential eleven sites of geological interest in Dakhla Oasis, enabling the dissemination of geosciences in communities with low levels of scientific knowledge. The inventory and evaluation of these sites can be used to advance management, strategy development, geotourism, and geoheritage education in understanding the Earth’s history and raising the population’s quality of life. The obtained outputs has been shown that the whole Dakhla’s geosites have the best scoring for the scientific and educational value (> 70), while five geosites show very high touristic values (89–90) compared to moderate value (51–61) for two geosites. The representativeness, geological diversity, observation condition, accessibility, and no limitations of use signify the main reasons for the best scores. Regarding degradation risk, high (82) to moderate value (47–69) of deprivation are characterized two to six geosites, respectively with low value (35) is applied to one geosite. In spite of the negative impacts for some geosites, all the investigated sites reflect substantial scientific, educational, and tourism potential that require comprehensive management and geoconservation strategies for tourism development. The introductory policies deliver an imaginary view for empowering UNESCO’s rules for conserving the geological treasures, raising the socio-economic level for the local community and motivating the sustainable growth in the rural territories at national and regional levels. Lastly, the article’s data divulge that the notable plentiful geological and cultural features of the non-urban areas not only attend as a natural laboratory for scientific researches but also lay a vital basis for encouraging promotion of Earth sciences and geotourism sustainability via the creating of a potential UNESCO Global Geopark. This will help as a reference for stockholders, institutions, and companies interested in geological studies, geotourism, and entertaining activities. Under the geopark umbrella, the incorporation of geological and cultural heritage will stimulate more inclusive geoconservation exertions and contribute to the geotourism development.