This Proceedings volume contains papers from three symposia which were held during the 29th International Geological Congress, Kyoto, Japan, 24 August--3 September 1992. From the first symposium --- ''Metamorphic Reactions: kinetics and mass transfer'' --- 5 papers were selected for publication. One of the objectives of the symposium was to clarify the nature of reactions and mass transfer from the viewpoint of kinetics. From the ''Sandstone Petrology in Relation to Tectonics''-symposium, 10 papers were selected and revised for inclusion in this book. The articles reflect the different approaches on the relationship between sandstone composition and tectonic setting. The third symposium in this volume --- ''Evaporite and Desert Environment'' consists of 8 selected papers. The papers summarize the relationship between various desertification factors and the dynamics of different regions, and the classification of these regions according to their geological and mineralogical factors.
This book reflects the results of more than ten years of cooperative research involving Wageningen Agricultural University (y. l AU) in the Netherlands, the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE; Centro Agron6mico Tropical de lnvestigaci6n y Ensefianza) in Costa Rica and the Costa Rican Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG; Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadeda) as part of the Research Program on Sustainability in Agriculture (REPOSA) in the Central American country. The type of cooperation was unusual as it focused on both research and the education of students undertaking either M. Sc. thesis projects or a program of practical training in the various aspects of studying land use. Since funding was provided by W AU, a high degree of scientific autonomy was created that has clearly benefited the independent, scientific rigor of the work. Over the ten-year period, the program has changed from being a patchwork of various insulated specialist projects, into a truly interdisciplinary effort, leading to the development of innovative tools for analyzing land use on a number of geographical scales. These tools are presented in this book. Besides CATIE and MAG, cooperation with other Costa Rican partner institutions has been essential from the beginning, and this process of interaction has also evolved considerably over time.