Katja VINTAR MALLY, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, Department of Geography, Slovenia
The sustainable development paradigm challenges humanity to achieve socioeconomic progress within the carrying capacity of the planetary ecosystem, which refers specifically to the regeneration rate of resources and the ability of the environment to absorb wastes. Despite generally strong public support for the economic, social, and environmental goals of sustainable development, in practise there is a significant gap between knowledge and awareness of the issues and willingness to change. The presentation will explain the theoretical background of the described gap and then present practical examples from research related to Slovenia (Europe). Research has confirmed that there are important discrepancies between the relatively high level of knowledge about environmental problems and problem awareness of individual population groups, on the one hand, and the much lower willingness to change behaviour and adopt more environmentally friendly practises, on the other hand. At the same time, the population's expectations of increased efforts to change and protect the environment are much higher toward others (European Union, national government, businesses) than toward themselves and their local environment. This raises the question of how to bridge the gap between the two and get residents and communities to act and change their behaviour.
Mots clés : sustainability|environment|raising awareness|behaviour
A103427KV