Topic: Geographies of climate change, disasters and sustainable development in the Anthropocene

Speaker: Michael Meadows, President of the International Geographical Union (IGU)

Brief Introduction to the report:

In this lecture, Academician Meadows will use examples from China and elsewhere to reflect on the nature and scale of human impact on the environment and consider the extent to which changes in the frequency and magnitude of natural hazards have increased environmental risk and threatened the lives and livelihoods of the vulnerable poor especially. Progress towards, and prospects for sustainable development are discussed, along with the potential of the discipline of Geography to advance progress towards the SDGs.

Brief Introduction to the speaker:

Michael Meadows, President of the International Geographical Union (IGU), is currently Distinguished Professor in the School of Geography and Ocean Sciences at Nanjing University, China, but retains a research position in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science at the University of Cape Town, where he was Head of Department from 2001-2017.

Meadows has authored or co-authored more than 250 peer-reviewed research articles and has recently co-edited two major review volumes: Research Directions, Challenges and Achievements of Modern Geography (Springer, 2023) and Geography of the Anthropocene (Istanbul University Press, 2024).  His research interests lie broadly in the field of physical geography and more specifically concern environmental change and the geomorphological and ecological impacts of recent natural and human-induced changes. 

Time: 16:00-18:00, March 7, 2024

Venue: Meeting room C602, IGSNRR