Please find following Pacific Vacancies - Announcement No. 2001 / 143.

Wilco Liebregts

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The candidate is asked to develop a Ph.D. research programme within the framework of the project ‘Development of integrated farming approaches for sustainable crop production in environmentally constrained systems in the pacific region’. The Ph.D. programme will focus on the impact of current agricultural practice on the ground water quality of corallian atolls in the South Pacific Region. The risk of groundwater deterioration of current and alternative agricultural practices will be asessed by means of environmental modelling. The environmental modelling tools will be evaluated/calibrated using data collected in a Tongan case study.

The candidate has a MSc. degree in hydro-environmental engineering/agricultural engineering/ soil science or related areas, supported by an excellent academic curriculum. The candidate develops skills in hydrometrology, statistical and hydrological modelling, with a particular attention to soil physics and the use of GIS technology. The candidate speaks/writes english. Knowledge of French is desirable. The project will be carried out at the Unité de Génie Rural of the department ( in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture of Tonga, and HortResearch in New Zealand. The candidate is willing to carry out his experimental programme at the Vaini Research station in Tonga. Well qualified candidates with a specific knowledge of the Pacific Region will have an advantage in the selection procedure.

Interested candidates should send their complete CV with a letter of motivation to :

Prof. M. Vanclooster

Croix du Sud 2 / 2

B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve

Tel. 32 10 47 37 10

email : vanclooster@...

Closure date : 31 january 2002

The main objective of the project is to develop integrated approaches for achieving sustainable management and crop production in environmentally-constrained areas in the Pacific island region, aiming at increasing productivity and minimizing land and water degradation. The objective of the CROPPRO project are

1. To select watersheds within the Pacific region, and carry out land inventory for collection of relevant meteorological, topographical, hydrological, soil and land use variables.

2. To analyse farming system, with special attention to the investigation of traditional and alternative farming practices for the major crops like coconuts, peanuts, fruits and vegetables

3. To monitor current water, soil, and nutrient and pesticide losses within the watersheds

4. To simulate current water, sediment and solute flows within the watersheds, and identify areas with high losses (low sustainability)

5. To define and evaluate prospective farming approaches for major crop/soil units to minimize soil, nutrient, and pesticide losses, with special attention to opportunities for integrated farming practices that aim to conserve soil and nutrients, and focus on environment-friendly pest management strategies

6. To develop guidelines for implementation of these sustainable farming approaches on farm and watershed level to assure sustainable crop production in the environmentally-constrained areas in the Pacific region

7. To establish close links between the researchers and the end-users through the use of a participatory and culture-sensitive training strategy for the various community groups living and/or working in the project areas.

The Ph. D. candidate will more specifically be involved in objectives 3,4 and 5.