Understanding and Quantitative Evaluation of Geosites and Geodiversity in Maros-Pangkep, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Maros and Pangkep are two administrative regencies located on the southern arm of Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. The area is composed of three main geological frameworks and landscapes, namely, mélange, karst, and reef islands. Geographically, the area is 4° south of the latitude of the center of Indonesia. The purpose of this study is to promote geological uniqueness and to quantify geoheritage and geodiversity sites that will support the geoconservation of the Maros-Pangkep territory. We used an inventory and quantitative assessment of geosites and geodiversity sites as proposed by Brilha. This method used four sets of criteria for the quantification and analysis of scientific value, potential education use, potential tourist use, and degradation risk. The quantification results of twenty-one sites suggested that nine geosites have geoscientific significance. Those sites preserved four geological domains, i.e., a tectonic-structural domain, which consists of folded Cretaceous chert, a low-ultra high-pressure metamorphic assemblage, and oceanic rocks; a geomorphological domain, which consists of three caves with different characteristics and speleothems in a karst landform; a sedimentological domain, which consists of two reef islands as representative modern carbonates with coastal geodynamics; and a stratigraphic domain, which consists of an igneous intrusion and other volcanic associations. The assessment results generated nine international scientific values, eleven high educational potentials, nine high tourism potentials, and nine moderate degradation risks for the 21 promoted geosites. These results serve as a baseline for the management plans and geoconservation strategies and encourage the socioeconomic improvement of the people living around the site.