Description

Katja Vintar Mally is an Associate Professor at the Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. In 2003, she received her master’s degree in Landscape Ecology and Environmental Protection, and in 2006 she obtained her Ph.D. in Geography with the thesis “Contradictions between environmental protection and socio-economic development in developing countries”. She holds the Chair for Environmental protection at the Department of Geography and teaches courses on environmental protection and sustainable development (Environmental Geography, Geography of Environmental Resources, Urban Ecology) as well as regional geography (Geography of North Africa and Southwest Asia, Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa). Her personal research focus and interests encompass sustainable development, sustainable development indicators, sustainable use of environmental resources, environmental protection, regional development, etc. She is a member of the Department's research group and its research program "Sustainable regional development of Slovenia", and is currently involved in several national and international research projects.

Abstract: One of the key ideas of sustainable development is to break the link between economic growth and environmental impacts, to ensure that the socioeconomic development of the growing world population would take place within global environmental limits. While warnings about exceeding planetary carrying capacity and increasing environmental degradation are mounting, socioeconomic development in most countries of the world continues to be closely linked to environmental degradation (as shown, for example, by the high correlation between human development and gross national income per capita and ecological footprint per capita). Although absolute decoupling is being promoted, progress has been too slow and shows mainly signs of relative decoupling, based mostly on technological advances to reduce environmental impacts and improve resource efficiency. Reducing the environmental pressures emanating from economically developed countries, and technological progress in general, do not currently provide sufficient room to increase human well-being in low- and middle-income countries without exacerbating local and global environmental problems to which the inhabitants of these countries are less able to adapt.

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85968634904

ID: 859 6863 4904