The Scientific Council of the Coa Park – Foundation for the Protection and Enhancement of the Coa Valley met for the first time on January 31, in the Coa Museum. At this meeting, chaired by the Secretary of State for Science, Technology and Higher Education, Maria Fernanda Rollo, were representatives of various national and international entities that are part of this Scientific Council.
UTAD is represented on the Board by Domingos Lopes, Department of Forest Sciences and Landscape Architecture and will be linked to the issues of rurality (Agriculture, Forestry, Landscape, Rural Development, among others).
With the inclusion of higher education institutions and R & D units in institutional partnerships Park, want the intersection with the academic fabric, encouraging the definition of programs and Research and Development projects in the region. ” It is also intended this to be a “scientific research area of reference and enhance territorial development strategies virtuous, coordinated and effective.”
The Coa Park – Foundation for the Protection and Enhancement of the Coa Valley was established by Decree-Law No. 35/2011 of 8 March, as a public foundation with private law, having as main purpose the protection, conservation, research, dissemination and exploitation of rock art in the Coa Valley. Decree-Law No. 70/2017, of June 20 held the first amendment to the Articles of Côa Park Foundation, adapting them to the Fundamental Law on Foundations (Law No. 24/2012, as amended and republished by Law n o 150/2015). Among the most significant novelties there is the establishment of an Advisory Council (formerly the successor Board of Founders), which are represented national institutions, regional and local levels; the reformulation of donors – Directorate General of Cultural Heritage, Turismo de Portugal, IP, Portuguese Environment Agency, the Municipality of Vila Nova de Foz Coa and Association of Municipalities of the Coa Valley; and strengthening “of its action through the area of science, technology and higher education, in close coordination with the areas of culture, economy, tourism and the environment, in particular through the involvement of the scientific and higher education institutions with a view the development of scientific and technological cooperation focused on the financial, scientific and environmental enhancement of the Coa Valley. “
Biographical Note
Domingos Lopes has a degree in Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Master of Rural Development and PhD in the area of the environment by Kingston University, United Kingdom. Has developed some work in the prevention of risks in the area of influence of the Foundation, together with the UTAD the pro-rector for the area of the Heritage and Sustainability, Amadeu Borges