The goals and objectives of The PaleoParks Initiative are:
1. To identify significant paleontologic field resources, as defined locally, nationally or internationally. These could also be living resources of significance to paleontologists (living fossils, perhaps like the Redwood parks in California; stromatolites in Shark Bay already a World Heritage Site; microbial mats in the Tuamotos and on Moorea; cloud forests; certain swamps; etc).
2. To identify and tabulate all PaleoParks world-wide in a database, including established sites such as GeoParks, Dinosaur Nat. Park, Shark Bay, with important fossils, etc., but importantly new, undesignated sites. The database would include the usual identifiers but also the preservation and conservation status of the site, the goals for preservation and conservation, problems at the site either designated already or established. The database would be available on-line through passwords only.
3. To support activities with expert advice and action to preserve and conserve significant sites at an appropriate private, local, state, national, or international level.
4. To identify and respond to problems at endangered sites, with appropriate expert opinion and advice.
5. To assist in the development of such sites to enhance the educational, research and recreational uses. Some might support all three uses, others might be preserved just for research or education. Each site will be evaluated by experts.
6. To provide general information on paleontological sites world-wide to those in positions of authority.
7. To make available lists of fossil sites that offer supervised educational and/or recreational activities. This would be on-line and not password protected. The sites included here would obviously be properly protected, officially designated and publicly available already. This is an official outreach and educational activity of IPA.
8. To provide a "speaker's bureau" associated with particular sites or regions of experts who are also good speakers for outreach to the general public and educational organizations.
9. To identify and/or provide literature on particular sites. This could include scientific, recreational, legal, administrative, etc. information.
10. To provide an image database related to PaleoParks for use by the various constituencies.