Daniela Ribeiro graduated in Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering from the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro in Portugal, obtained a master's degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of Nova Gorica, and earned a doctorate in Environmental Protection from the University of Ljubljana.
Her research focuses on the relationship between humans and nature, landscape ecology, and environmental protection. She is particularly interested in the management of common land, the assessment of ecosystem services, and the role of local communities in sustainable landscape management. Her work also includes transferring scientific knowledge to support decision-making in environmental protection and sustainable development. She is a member of the Scientific Council of GIAM ZRC SAZU.
Daniela Ribeiro is a researcher in environmental sciences at the Anton Melik Geographical Institute ZRC SAZU. Her research focuses on land use dynamics, landscape sustainability, and natural resource management, particularly in the context of human–nature relations. She pays particular attention to the management of common land, the assessment of ecosystem services, and understanding the socio-ecological processes that influence sustainable landscape management. Her research also addresses how scientific knowledge can support policy-making and decision-making in environmental protection and sustainable development.
Among her most important achievements is the postdoctoral research project "Sustainable Landscape Management: From Theory to Practice" (2019–2023), funded by the Slovenian Research Agency. She also participates in the Horizon 2020 projects, which focus on supporting the implementation of European Green Deal policies at diferent levels, and on integrating data on biodiversity, ecosystem condition, and ecosystem services into decision-making processes. The results of her research are published in international scientific journals and presented at scientific conferences.
In the future, she aims to develop comparative and interdisciplinary approaches to researching sustainable landscape management practices, shared resources, and the role of local communities in nature conservation and management of ecosystems that provide ecosystem services.
- Seguin, J., Ribeiro, D., Šmid Hribar, M., et al. (2026). Towards integrated ecosystem assessments: a literature review on linking ecosystem condition indicators to ecosystem services. One Ecosystem, 11.
- Gomes, P., Ribeiro, D., Lopes, D. (2025). Assessing the contribution of communal lands to ecosystem services: a quantification of carbon sequestration in a case study from Portugal. Acta geographica Slovenica, 65(3).
- Ribeiro, D., Šmid Hribar, M., Kretsch, C. (2025). Common lands, shared futures : the importance of ecosystem services, justice, and sustainability through community land management. Acta geographica Slovenica, 65(3).
- Šmid Hribar, M., Ribeiro, D., Villoslada, M. (2025). The contribution of common lands to carbon sequestration: a case study from Triglav National Park in Slovenia. Acta geographica Slovenica, 65(3).
- Ribeiro, D., Gabrovec, M. (2025). Transformations of cultural landscapes: case studies from Slovenia. V: Bański, J. (ur.). Agricultural land use: structural transformations, environment challenges, planning and policy. Routledge, pp. 153-164.
- Walther, F. E., Ribeiro, D., Šmid Hribar, M., et al. (2025). Uncertainties in ecosystem services assessments and their implications for decision support – a semi-systematic literature review.Ecosystem services, 73.
- Ribeiro, D., Simčič, M. (2024). Examples of human disturbances in the Dinaric karst landscape since the early twentieth century: a case study of Bela krajina. V: Fuerst-Bjeliš, B. (ur.), et al. Environmental histories of the Dinaric Karst. Springer, pp. 401-415.
- Gabrovec, M., Kumer, P., Ribeiro, D., Šmid Hribar, M. (2020). Land use in Slovenia. V: Perko, D. (ur.), Ciglič, R. (ur.), Zorn, M. (ur.). The geography of Slovenia: small but diverse. Springer Nature, pp. 279-290.
- Ribeiro, D., Razpotnik Visković, N., Čarni, A. (2020). Landscape dynamics at borderlands: analysing land use changes from Southern Slovenia. Open geosciences, 12(1).
- Ribeiro, D. (2020). Bela krajina - sustainability in a karst landscape. Založba ZRC.
- BLUE - Restoring urban blue spaces through nature-based solutions and social interventions to improve human well being and environment (fundamental research project • January 1, 2025 - December 31, 2027)
- SELINA - Science for Evidence-based and sustainabLe decisIons about NAtural capital (research project • July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2027)
- SHARED GREEN DEAL - Social sciences & Humanities for Achieving a Responsible, Equitable and Desirable GREEN DEAL (research project • February 1, 2022 - February 28, 2027)
- NatGuidES - Identification, assessment and mapping of ecosystem services in valuable nature conservation areas in Slovenia (target research project • October 1, 2021 - September 30, 2023)
- Sustainable landscape management: From science to action (postdoctoral research project • July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2021)
- Geography of Slovenia - national research programme (research programme • January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2027)
- University of Novo Mesto, Faculty of Economics and Informatics (study programme Environmental Management)
- Scholarship for a three-month research visit in an ZRC SAZU call for proposals for funding activities under the Skilled and Efficient Employees scheme
- Member of Steering Committee of the Land Use and Cover Change Commission of the International Geographical Union (2024-2028)
- Member of the International Association for Landscape Ecology – IALE
- Member of the Ecosystem Services Partnership – ESP
- Member of the Ljubljana geographical society – LGD
- Subject editor at the Journal of the Bulgarian Geographical Society
- Member of the Scientific Council of the GIAM ZRC SAZU