Geoheritage Use Value Assessment as an Adaptive Management Tool for UNESCO Global Geoparks: The Case of the Arouca UNESCO Global Geopark (Portugal)

Quantitative geoheritage assessment is widely used to evaluate geosites, but its application as a practical tool for supporting management remains comparatively underexplored. This study proposes and applies a quantitative framework for assessing geoheritage use value and explores its potential to support evidence-based and adaptive management in UNESCO Global Geoparks. The methodology was applied to 41 geosites in the Arouca UNESCO Global Geopark (Portugal) using 27 criteria addressing accessibility, visitor conditions and services, interpretation, educational and geotourism use, geoheritage and landscape characteristics, and conservation-related constraints. Each criterion was scored from 1 to 5 according to predefined scoring indicators, allowing both overall use-value assessment and criterion-level diagnosis. The results reveal considerable variability among geosites and show that lower use-value scores are particularly associated with limitations in directional signage, visitor facilities, geoheritage interpretation, current educational and geotourism use, and promotion. Conversely, several lower-performing geosites retain favourable intrinsic and interpretative characteristics, indicating that limited use value does not necessarily imply limited geoheritage potential. The criterion-based analysis therefore provides more management-relevant information than overall rankings alone by identifying the specific factors responsible for the performance of individual geosites. Because many assessed criteria can respond to management interventions, periodic reassessment could additionally provide a means of monitoring changes in conditions for public use. The proposed approach thus offers a framework for connecting geoheritage assessment with diagnosis, intervention, monitoring and reassessment, supporting more targeted and evidence-based management in UNESCO Global Geoparks.