Joana Nogueira

Associate Professor – Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo (IPVC)

Joana Nogueira is an Associate Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo (IPVC), Portugal. She has a degree in Agronomic Engineering (Lisbon University – Portugal). Her interests in rural development and rural studies motivated her to get her Diploma in Advanced Studies (DEA) in Well-being, Population and Territory by the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain), where she also concluded her Ph.D. in Sociology.

She coordinates an undergraduate course in Rural and Nature Tourism at the Agriculture School (IPVC), and has been, for the last eight years, a member of the permanent technical team of the Alto Minho European Charter for Sustainable Tourism (Europarc). Recent projects include research on food, wine, and forestry production systems, with a special focus on the conciliation of social, economic, and environmental goals at regional and local scales. This integrated, inclusive, and environmental sensitive approach to rural development has motivated a recent research-action project dedicated to the Alto Minho’s Mountain villages, with special focus on participatory rural planning. As most mountain areas are also nature conservation areas, nature tourism, rural tourism and local gastronomy emerged naturally as main areas of interest.

She is also a member of the executive committee of Portuguese Rural Studies Association (SPER) and a member of the research unit proMetheus – Materials, Energy and Environment for Sustainability.