Professors Francisco Javier Ruíz Sánchez, Patricio Guillermo Villafañe, and Rafael Marquina Blasco are participating in a seminar in Tenerife on the protection, management, and applications of paleontological heritage, in which Francisco Javier Ruíz Sánchez is co-organizing.
Major scientific advances in the biological sciences during the 21st century have come from molecular biology and paleontology (Jablonsky & Shubin, 2015). Paleontology studies the fossil record, considered a heritage resource of great value (UNESCO). Since paleontological heritage is a non-renewable resource, its conservation is essential. However, despite its relevance, it still lacks a solid theoretical framework to support its preservation and proper use. This seminar seeks to develop an initial document that establishes paleontological heritage as a discipline dedicated to the study, conservation, and management of fossil resources, both in situ (paleontological sites) and ex situ (collections), and that allows for the integration of paleontological information in areas such as education, biodiversity, and natural heritage conservation.
