Measuring the Ecological Footprint: Global and Asian Perspectives

Abstract
The objects of this seminar will be to 1) provide an overview of the Ecological Footprint, a resource accounting tool that measures how much nature can renewably provide, how much humanity is using, and who uses what; and 2) draw key lessons from ongoing projects in Asia by highlighting case studies in the Philippines, Indonesia and ASEAN, whose governments are working to incorporate resource limits into policymaking. The presentation will highlight key challenges for these governments, including trade: What are the implications in a resource-constrained world, especially for these low-income countries?

Biography of the Speakers
Sebastian Winkler is Global Footprint Network’s Director for Europe. In 2010, he was part of the Spanish European Union Presidency team and supported the country in a number of International and European biodiversity negotiations. Sebastian has had a distinguished career as an advisor on international issues, and has held a variety of important economics- and sustainability-related posts at IUCN, UNEP, and Mexico’s Deputy Minister of Environment.

He holds a BA from the University of Konstanz, Germany (Development Economics, Administrative Science and Policy), and earned Master’s Degrees at the Institute of Social Studies in the Hague, the Netherlands; the University of Trier, Germany; and the Ecole Polytechnique of Lausanne, Switzerland. He also studied at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques of Grenoble, France and at the Harvard Business School (Management). He speaks fluent Spanish, German, English, and French, and has a working knowledge of Portuguese and Italian.

Pati Poblete is leading Global Footprint Network’s engagement with Asia. Building on her on-the-ground policy expertise as a journalist, Pati has been engaging with Asian national governments and various international institutions including ADB and the ASEAN Secretariat. Prior to joining Global Footprint Network, Pati was a journalist for 15 years, working as a columnist and editorial writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, deputy editorial page editor for the Honolulu Advertiser and staff editor at numerous Bay Area daily newspapers. Her yearlong editorial series on foster care reform in California for the San Francisco Chronicle helped lead to numerous changes in the state law, and won her numerous national awards, including first place in the National Headliners Award, Scripps Howard National Journalism Award, Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Chi Award and the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. Pati was also the Chronicle’s nominee for Pulitzer Prize in editorial writing in 2006 and 2007. She is the author of “The Oracles: My Filipino Grandparents in America”.