Dr. Arie Stoffelen teaches at KU Leuven, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Division of Geography and Tourism, Belgium. His research revolves around regional development processes and contestations, in a globalizing world characterized by increasing cross-border mobility and place-based development strategies. In particular, he is interested in tourism-related sustainable regional development processes, spatial identity analysis, environmental governance, critical geopolitics, and the role of territorialization and borders in relation to the mentioned topics. Currently, he is Associate Editor of Annals of Tourism Research and Tourism Geographies, both of which are top SSCI Journals.

Time:

September 18, 2024, 14:30-17:30

Location:

Lide Building, Room 801

Online Meeting:

Tencent Meeting: 924-112-596

Introduction:

In this lecture, Dr. Arie Stoffelen will reflect on his research engagement with conservation, landscapes, and tourism in various parts of the world, offering insights drawn from diverse institutional contexts regarding the balance between nature conservation and socio-economic development. He will pay special attention to geoparks, which are promising but often rather problematic tools for sustainable resources management. Throughout the lecture, he will connect elements of social sustainability, community participation, landscape interpretation, the politicization of the natural environment, and institutional contexts to explore the complexity and diversity of conservation-development tensions in different regions around the globe.