GEOLOGICAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION INSTRUMENTS: CASE STUDY OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CONCEIÇÃO DA APARECIDA, MINAS GERAIS – BRAZIL

Brazil is a country that has a vast territory and contains many natural landscapes features and immense variety of rocks, shapes and structures of great aesthetic and scientific value. Geosites are areas that have numerous geological potentials, where these characteristics are notable from a scientific, didactic or touristic point of view. In this sense, this work carried out a cataloguing of geosites in the municipality of Conceição da Aparecida, in the south of Minas Gerais state aiming at the geoconservation of the geological heritage, the balanced use of natural resources and the identification of geosites. The lands of the study area belong to several units of the crystalline basement entitled Campos Gerais Formation, Carrancas Group, Petunia Complex, Varginha-Guaxupé Complex and Andrelândia Complex composed essentially by gneissic rocks. The development of this work consisted in the construction of a qualitative base on the studied area from the analysis of topographic maps, the use of GIS and later field activity, laboratory analysis and the elaboration of the results. In this way, the relationship between man and nature can be evidenced from the proposals for geoconservation and the identification of these areas for future generations. Thus, the integrity of nature and the best quality of life for man will be maintained. he scientific and local community will be informed about the issues of geographic space, enabling investments and better management practices in the area.