C O N T E N T S - Physical Land Resources - Vrije Universiteit Brussel

executing projects and advice in the field of groundwater modeling. In 2007 advice andsupport was provided for several projects in support of the consulting companies AGT,Grontmij Vlaanderen NV and Arcadis Aeolus bvba.O. BatelaanPoverty reduction through research-based sustainabledevelopment in mountainous karst areas in North VietnamThis new VLIR Own Initiative project originates in a co-operation between the Belgian andVietnamese partners in two former VLIR Own Initiative projects. Both projects contributedto capacity building in the natural and the social sciences relevant to sustainabledevelopment of the poorest karst (limestone) regions. However, the outcomes of theseprojects and the conclusions of an international Transkarst (2004) conference pointedclearly (1) to the necessity of a systematic organisation, intensive strengthening andconcrete institutionalisation of transdisciplinary research emphasizing inclusion of socialsciences, (2) to the need of strengthening educational and training capacity (elaboratingeducation and training programmes at these institutes for own staff and students, butalso for professionals and staff of government agencies, local NGO’s, etc.) and (3) to theneed of strengthening the capacity of the staff of the institutes for research-basedextension and for the elaboration of research-based local development projects involvinglocal policy makers and development agencies. These needs constitute the main focus ofthe proposed project, which creates the methodology and builds the foundation for theimplementation of a geopark. A UNESCO Geopark is defined as “a territory with welldefinedlimits that has a large enough surface area for it to serve local economicdevelopment. The Geopark would comprise a number of geological heritage sites ofspecial scientific importance, rarity or beauty, and may not be solely of geologicalsignificance but also of archaeological, ecological, historical or cultural value. The siteswould be linked to one another and safeguarded in a formally managed park-typesituation. The Geopark would be run by a designated authority which would adopt its ownterritorial policy for sustainable regional socio-economic development. This would have adirect impact on the areas involved by improving human living conditions and the ruralenvironment, strengthening the identification of the population with their area andtriggering cultural renaissance.” Promoter of the project is Prof. J. Masschelein,K.U.Leuven, other partners are Prof. Rudy Swennen and Prof. D. Wildemeersch of theK.U.Leuven, Prof. F. De Smedt and Prof. O. Batelaan of the VUB, Prof. R. Renard of the UA,Dr. M. Dusar of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences – Geological Survey ofBelgium. Local Vietnamse promoter is Dr. Tran Tan Van of the Research Institute on- 59 -