African trends in research promoting geoheritage, geoconservation, geotourism, and geoparks: state of the art and future challenges

Abstract

The study is based on a bibliometric analysis of scientific knowledge on geoheritage, geotourism, geoconservation and geoparks in Africa, using data from the Scopus database for the period 1999-2022.The results reveal an exponential growth in research in these fields, characterised by two distinct phases, while highlighting the remarkable productivity of certain African countries, such as Morocco, South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia.These results provide an overview of the trend in research on geoheritage, geoconservation, geotourism and geoparks in Africa, and make it possible to monitor the evolution of scientific research and identify research priorities across the continent.This approach is proving extremely useful in providing crucial information to the research community, practitioners and decision-makers who are seeking to understand the dynamics of these disciplines in Africa, and wish to actively contribute to their development.