Review Reports

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Dear authors,

Please find my suggestions and comments on the manuscript.

Regards.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear authors,

This is a very interesting paper, and it can be considered for publication after some revisions.

1) Your qualitative evaluation of the geoheritage threats in South Africa is based on interviews to 16 selected people, and not on field evidence provided by dedicated geological/geomorphological research. That's fine, but in the text you should stress the following points:
i) your results are preliminary and generic (i.e. not site-specific), and they can constitute the basis to further, more detailed studies;
ii) the results tell more about the perception that these people have on geoheritage threats than about geoheritage threats themselves;
iii) a more detailed and specific evaluation of geoheritage threats should be performed on an inventory of geosites, assessing their value and degradation risk in a qualitative and/or quantitative way (as in Brilha, J. Inventory and Quantitative Assessment of Geosites and Geodiversity Sites: A Review. Geoheritage 2016, 8, 119–134).

2) There are many papers about geoheritage assessment in general and geoheritage degradation risk in particular. Please add some more references.

Minor revisions:

3) l. 211 please correct "the sustainability of geoheritage sites"

4) l. 216: Attack on tourist by wild animals is not a threat to geoheritage sites, but a threat to the tourists.

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

This paper aims to discuss threats to geoheritage in South African National Parks. It only achieves this to some extent, for example in discussing the impacts of mining. It would benefit from further examples of threats and sites affected. For example, of any threats to sacred geoheritage sites. Also some of the threats are to the safety of visitors rather than to geoheritage sites themselves. Some English errors were also detected so the manuscript needs careful checking.

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 4 Report

Dear Authors,

The topic of your study is of great importance and interest, however the manuscript requires a thoughtful revision in order to better reveal such importance and interest.

Please, find my comments in the attached pdf.

The best regards.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Dear Authors

Thanks for having improved your paper.

Best regards.

Author Response

Point 1:

Dear Authors. Thanks for having improved your paper.

Best regards.

Response 1: Thank you for the positive comments.

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear authors

Thank you for the answer to my comments.

The paper has been improved and can be considered for publication.

Kind regards.

Author Response

Point 1: Dear authors

Thank you for the answer to my comments.

The paper has been improved and can be considered for publication.

Kind regards.

Response 1: Thank you for the positive comments.

Reviewer 4 Report

Dear Authors,

Many thanks for having revised the manuscript that has been considerably improved. However, after a rereading of the revised text and authors' response, I still suggest some modifications. Please, see my comments in the attached pdf file.

Best regards

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 3

Reviewer 4 Report

Dear authors,

many thanks for having revised the manuscript and addressed all my comments. I think that the paper can be published in the current form. Please, carefully check some minor typing mistakes during proof reading e.g.:

line 59: a blank space between "Bobomeni" and "Waterfall" is probably needed

line 318: again "geohetitage" is "geoheritage"

Congratulation for your work and all the best!