Director, Socioeconomic Development and Environmental Sciences Department
Many of our students come from impoverished rural areas, and they are looking for answers. Effective economic development programs can make a huge difference to their families and communities. Many have also seen up close environmental degradation and its cost to their communities; they understand the need to protect and reclaim natural areas because of the long term benefits to the people as well as the ecosystems.
Our department has grown a lot in the last few years. We have moved to an emphasis on environmental studies, which has greater applicability to the Zamorano value chain. We have also expanded our forestry sciences specialization and our water management program. Both are comprehensive educational programs for students, but also undertake important outreach initiatives. Our Geographic Information System (GIS) Laboratory is one of its kind in Honduras. We have twenty dedicated workstations where students learn predictive modelling and how to construct simulations as well as how to map areas effectively for long-term evaluation. In 2009, seven senior theses incorporated mapping and predictive modeling.
Recently, the Socioeconomic Development and Environmental Science Departmen has created a number of advanced courses that focus on specializations in environmental studies and provide education in subjects that are still rarely available in Central America. This includes our new and growing Marine Ecology and Coastal Studies program. Our tropical marine ecology class is the first ever to be offered in Honduras, and we are working to expand our capabilities in the field.
The Socioeconomic Development and Environmental Science Departmen also has a number of renewable energy projects, from our Global Village Energy Program (GVEP), which seeks to develop a market for renewable energy sources like solar panels and wind turbines in the Yeguare Valley, to our biofuel initiatives, and to our clean cooking stoves program.
Ochten, The Netherlands
B.S. Agriculture, Larenstein University (The Netherlands)
B.S. Development Economics, Wageningen University
M.Sc. Development Economics, Wageningen University
Joined Zamorano: October 2003
Subjects include: Development Economics, Statistics, and Land Use Planning
(Annual Report 2009)
