Luc Boerboom

Dr. Ir. Luc Boerboom joined ITC in 1999. He holds an MSc degree in Tropical Land and Water Management (1992) from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, with specialization in soil and water conservation modeling. He worked a year (1993) as a research assistant with the International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR), which was one of the Centers of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). There he worked in a program looking at the implication of environmental concerns due to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992 for national agricultural research in developing countries. He holds a PhD degree in agronomy from the University of Georgia in the USA (1999), where he was a research assistant in the USAID funded SANREM - CRSP (Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management - Collaborative Research Support Program) project. He developed a mathematical programming model to develop scenarios for spatial optimality of multiple farms against watershed optimality regarding soil erosion, using methods from quantitative anthropology to distinguish groups of decision makers.

He has over 20 years of theoretical and practical experience in decision sciences, multi-criteria decision making, spatial planning and decision support systems, information systems, and software development. Fields of application have been in regional agricultural planning, integrated watershed management, climate change and forest management, urban and transport planning and decision making, disaster management, and terrorism threat evaluation. Since 2009 he studies institutionalization of spatial planning and decision support systems and web-based spatial decision support systems. The latter he also develops.

Luc is assistant professor in Planning and Decision making Concepts and Methods, in the Department of Urban Regional Planning and Geo-information Management. He was member of the departmental management team holding the portfolio research from September 2004 until July 2007.

Expertise

• Spatial planning and decision support systems and infrastructures
• Serious gaming
• (Web-based) DSS development
• Spatial multi-criteria evaluation
• Operations research
• Deep uncertainty
• Scenarion analysis and futures studies

Country experience (> 2 year involvement):

• Asia: Malaysia, Philippines, China, India, Nepal
• Africa: Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan
• Latin America: Brazil
• Europe: UK, Germany, Italy

Current courses

• Distance course “Spatial Decision Support Systems”
• Spatial planning support systems and scenario development
• Scenario Analysis, Collaborative Decision Support and Serious Gaming
• Systems analysis for NRM
• Scenario planning for Dutch Water Boards

Current PhD projects

• M. Petr. Climate change, uncertaity and consequent risks: opportunities for forest management adaptation in Britain (2010-2014)
• F. Cheng, Enhancing urban sustainability: Pre-brownfield steering in a rapidly transitional urban context. (2008-2012)
• P. Kolte, Implications for information infrastructure of variability of decision structure and judgment. (2008-2012)
• B. Farhadi. Development of model supporting policy formulation for land and water resource development, the case of Borkhar plain in Islamic republic of Iran. (2005-2009)
• F. Sargordi. Development of model supporting goal formulation for land and water resource development, the case of Borkhar plain in Islamic republic of Iran. (2005-2009)

Activities in research

• ITC Project coordinator in Mau Mara Serengeti sustainable water management initiative (2013-2017), integrating expertise of experts on natural resources, water resources, geo-informatics, and integrated assessment.  Funded by Dutch embassy in Kenya.  
• CHANGES: "Changing Hydro-meteorological Risks". Funded by FP7 (http://www.changes-itn.eu/)
• INCREO: "Increasing Resilience through Earth Observation". Funded by FP7 (http://www.increo-fp7.eu/)
• EO2HEAVEN: "Earth Observation and Environmental Modelling for the Mitigation of Health Risks" (http://www.eo2heaven.org/)
• SAFELAND: "Living with landslide risk in Europe"
• Project coordinator and research assistant supervisor in project “Transnational Forestry Management Strategies in Response to Regional Climate Change Impacts - ForeStClim” (2008-2013) funded by the European Regional Development Fund INTERREG IVB North West Europe. It is a collaboration of 16 management and research institutes in the Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands lead by the Forschungsanstalt für Waldökologie und Forstwirtschaft of the Landesforsten Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.
• PhD student supervisor in project “Using spatial information infrastructure in urban governance networks: reducing urban deprivations in Indian cities?” (2008-2012) funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific research (NWO) under its WOTRO Science for Global Development program. It is a collaboration between AMIDSt (University of Amsterdam), ITC, School of Planning and Architecture (New Delhi), and Tata Institute of Social Sciences (Mombai).
• PhD student supervisor in project “Enhancing urban sustainability: Pre-brownfield steering in a rapidly transitional urban context” as part of joint research program ‘Sustainable Urbanisation’ with Utrecht University funded by the China Scholarship Council (2008-2012).
• Sabbatical research on consequences of institutionalization and drift of multi-criteria decision making for Malaysian spatial planning (2007-2008).
• PhD student supervisor in research project between ITC and the Iranian Ministry of Agriculture on Development of Spatial Collaborative Planning Support Systems, supporting food security and agricultural development in Iran (2003-2009).
• Developer of spatial multi-criteria evaluation software in research project on Development of a Spatial Monitoring and Certification System supporting Sustainable Management of production Forest in Indonesia (2003-2007). This project is a joint program between ITC, and Tropenbos International from Holland and Watershed Management Technology Center, Indonesian Eco-labeling, Bogor Institute of Technology, CIFOR, and Ministry of Forestry in Indonesia

Activities in capacity development

Consulting activities

• Preparation of Spatial Development Framework for National Urbanization Policy of Rwanda. Funded by UN Habitat (2014-2016)
• Preparation of a Regional Spatial Planning Strategy of Blue Nile State. Funded by UN Habitat (2013-2015)
• Development of spatial evaluation models for regional plan of Darfur, Sudan, commissioned by UN Habitat. (2012-2014)
• Refresher course (2 weeks) on “Decision Support Systems for Sustainable Urban Development in Eastern Africa” to be held in Uganda (Sept. 2008).
• Expanding Expertise Network for generating and sharing knowledge related to Spatial Planning and Decision Support (ENSPADS) http://www.itc.nl/external/enspads/ (2004-2005) funded by the Asean-EU University Network Programme (AUNP)
• Tailor-made course “Planning support systems: scenario development and analysis” commissioned by Malaysian Federal Department of Town and Country planning. (2005)
• Establish multi-criteria evaluation methodology in for the Klang Valley Integrated Public Transport System And Land Use Development Plan (Kajian Pelan Integrasi Pembangunan Sistem Pengangkutan Awam Dan Gunatanah Lembah Klang), commissioned by the Malaysian Prime Minister’s office (2003-2004)
• The Pantanal-Taquari project: Decision Support System for catchment-based river management (2003-2004) funded by the Dutch Partners for Water Program.
• Short course “Geoinformation for Natural Disaster Management” at the Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan, RESTEC, in Tokyo.
• Tailor-made course “Problem analysis for versatile use of spatial databases” commissioned by Malaysian Ministry of Federal Territories. (2003)
• Tailor-made course “Spatial Multicriteria Analisis for Planning and Decision Support” commissioned by Malaysian Federal Department of Town and Country planning. (2002)