Ecological footprinting is a method for measuring the impact of human activities on the environment. It is based on the idea that human activities consume resources and generate waste, and that these activities have an impact on the environment that can be quantified in terms of the area of land and water required to sustain them.
To calculate an ecological footprint, researchers assess the amount of land and water required to produce the goods and services consumed by an individual, a community, or a society, as well as the land and water needed to absorb the waste generated by these activities. This includes the land and water required to produce the food we eat, the products we use, and the energy we consume.
The ecological footprint is expressed in terms of the amount of land and water required to sustain these activities, measured in units called global hectares (gha). The ecological footprint can be used to compare the sustainability of different communities, regions, or countries, or to assess the impact of individual or collective behaviors on the environment.
Understanding ecological footprints can help policymakers and individuals make informed decisions about how to reduce the environmental impact of human activities and promote sustainability.
Wackernagel and Rees (1996) have defined the ecological footprint as the area of productive ecosystems outside a city that is required to sustain life in the city. The productive ecosystems include crop and grazing land for animal products, water bodies like marine and freshwater areas for fisheries, forest areas for wood products and absorption of greenhouse gas emissions, and undeveloped natural areas for the development of housing and infrastructures. The area of ecological footprint depends upon two factors:
The requirements of the city
The capacity of the environment to meet the requirements
One is the ecological footprint, and the other is the biological capacity or bio-capacity, which means the productive area which can regenerate what people demand from nature. The environmental footprint should always be smaller than the bio-capacity for the sustainable functioning of the human lifestyle and the ecosystem. The demand of people is tracked through an ecological accounting system. This is also a measure of the impacts caused by humans on the environment. The cities are hot spots that require
Origin and Concept of Ecological footprint
William Rees, a Canadian Ecologist, propounded the concept of ecological footprint in the form of ‘regional capsule’ and ‘appropriated carrying capacity’ in 1992, which was further modified and developed by his student Mathis Wackernagel, a Swiss urban planner in his Ph.D. dissertation. Wackernagel and Rees 1996 wrote a book called ‘Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth .’This book describes the concept of bio-capacity, the criticism of current lifestyles as being unsustainable, and the unequal distribution of resources on this planet rather than a limitation of resources.
The Global Footprint Network promoted the ecological footprint method to measure the human demand for natural capital. The assessments of environmental footprints and biological capacity of the countries on Earth are compared to know how colossal humanity’s need is compared to what Earth can renew. The ecological footprint analysis is done by using the existing technology and resource management practices rather than determining the number of people supported by a given land area or an entire planet. As a result, the ecological footprints and bio-capacity are different in different countries. This depends on various factors like the geography of a country, its population size, and environmental policies.
Ecological footprints > Bio-capacity = ‘Ecological deficit’ (Depletion of natural resources & increase of greenhouse gases emission)
Ecological footprints < Bio-capacity = Storage in ‘ecological reserve’ for future use
The utilities of measurement of ecological footprint have been listed as follows:
- The ecological footprint measures how fast humans have consumed natural resources and generated waste. It also compares this with how fast nature can absorb the wastes generated by humans and produce new resources. So, when the utilization exceeds the bio-capacity, it creates a severe problem of scarcity.
- The ecological footprint has a demand and supply side. The demand side measures the ecological property; a person needs to generate the natural resources it utilizes and absorb its solid, liquid, and gaseous wastes. The supply side measures the bio-capacity of a given population and the productivity of the ecological property.
- The ecological footprint can help people know their rate of consumption of natural resources and their impacts on the planet. Countries can improve sustainability and well-being by the measurement of ecological footprint.
- The ecological footprint measurement shows whether a country is living within the bio-capacity of its territory or is an ‘ecological debtor’ depending on the environmental benefits of other parts of the world. The ecological footprint analysis also tracks whether the country is on its way toward achieving sustainable development or not.
- The ecological footprint has been used by environmental activists to raise awareness of the impacts of unsustainable natural resources consumption and development, encouraging eco-friendly changes in lifestyles.
The ecological footprints and bio-capacity are measured and expressed in hectares at various scales for individuals, regions, countries, and humanity as a whole. The Global Footprint Network, a non-profit organization, has partnered with many cities, businesses, and other organizations to analyze the per capita ecological footprint. According to the present report of 2021, China, the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, India, etc., are the leading countries having the world’s highest ecological footprint and an ecological deficit. In contrast, Timor Leste, Eritrea, Haiti, Bangladesh, etc., are the countries having the smallest environmental footprint.
World Footprint and Ecological Overshoot
Since the 1970s, the world has been facing ecological overshoot, with the annual demand for resources exceeding the earth’s bio-capacity. The ecological overshoot means the ecological deficit of the planet. The ecological overshoot occurs when:
Human’s ecological footprint > Earth’s bio-capacity
The Earth Overshoot day marks when the ecological footprint exceeds the bio-capacity in a year. The countries collect this data through the various offices, which maintain the record of the country’s economic activities, agricultural productivity, imports, exports, energy consumption, etc. International agencies, including the United Nations, receive these reports from the countries. Then, the Global Footprint Network collects reports from international agencies and calculates the ecological footprint of more than 200 countries, maintaining a database on the number of resources each country consumes.
Humanity is using more resources than the earth provides. Global consumption is unevenly distributed, favors only a few, and is highly deficient. Our planet can produce help on time, whatever we need, no matter how human beings are using the resources. The problem arose when we started challenging the resources and taking advantage of them without thinking about the negative impacts of overconsumption and uneven distribution of resources. As a result, when our deeds exceed the capacity of rejuvenation of the ecosystem, the ecosystem services decline, and we are left with not many resources. We human beings are using more ecological resources and services than nature can regenerate through overharvesting, clearing off forests for over-agricultural production, overfishing, etc. The energy that we use in our daily life to maintain our lifestyle produces much more carbon dioxide emissions which badly affects human as well as ecosystem health.
Today, we need 1.6 planets to provide the resources we use and absorb the waste we produce. That means it takes about a year and eight months for our planet to regenerate what we use in a year. The Global Footprint Network calculates every year Earth Overshoot Day, and in 2013, it was on August 19th, that day we finished using our resources for the year. This situation can be compared with a bank account; for the first seven months and 20 days, we lived on our annual revenue, and after that, we spent our capital. The ecological footprint is a great tool to assess our pressure on the planet; it shows the big picture.
Our ecological footprint measures how much area of land and water we need to produce the energy, food, land for settlements, timber, seafood, etc., and to absorb the waste we generate. Our bio-capacity is the amount of biologically productive area that is available to provide the resources we use and to absorb the waste. So, we can compare footprint and bio-capacity to see if we are well-balanced or not. If the whole world started consuming resources more than bio-capacity, then we would need more than four planets to produce the resources we use and to absorb the waste because not every nation has huge forests and so many other natural resources. According to the present data, the United States has an ecological footprint of 8.22 and a bio-capacity of 3.76. So, the difference is -4.46. So, it can be said to have a big ecological debt. This is the case, similar to most developed countries. One country with smaller footprints is the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 0.82. Although it is not an economically rich country, it has a bio-capacity of 3.07. Therefore, it is an ecological creditor country with a difference of 2.25. The Global Footprint Network published the footprints in low, middle, and high-income countries between 1961 and 2021. This data on ecological footprints also shows that the world’s average bio-capacity is decreasing. It tells that the wealthier the people are, the bigger their footprint. When we can afford resources, it’s hard to resist using them. This is also confirmed that 17 % of the world’s population consumes 80 % of the world’s resources, so the main problem is not absolutely the lack of resources but it’s the fact that our global consumption is highly uneven and inefficient. We can also measure the ecological footprint of an individual, a city, a business, or all of humanity to assess the pressure on the planet. So, we can calculate our own ecological footprint on the Global Footprint Network website, and if it is significantly less than our country’s footprint, then it can be understood that one has a healthy as well as an ecofriendly lifestyle which includes less consumption of meat, less use of vehicles, living in a highly energy efficient house, etc. So, the ecological footprint is really a very useful way of understanding our relationship with the planet and how the ways in which we live impact our ability to survive and flourish as a race in a period of time. Thus, it becomes the duty of humanity to leave small ecological footprints in nature.
FAQs on Ecological Footprint
What does ecological footprint mean?
In simple words, footprint means the area of land and water needed to produce the resources used by the human beings and to absorb the waste generated. Ecological footprint means the quantity of nature utilized by the human beings or the requirements of a person and as a whole country regarding the global natural resources. Ecological footprint has become one of the most widely used measures of the impact of the human activities on the environment. The ecological footprint also estimates the biological productivity which provides the renewable resources. Not only that, it also estimates the wastes generated by the populations to be absorbed by the nature for generation of new resource.
What are some examples of ecological footprints?
Some examples of ecological footprints are the utilization of nature and its resources by the human beings. Examples of ecological footprints include cropland footprint, grazing land footprint, forest footprint, fishing ground foot print, built upland footprint, carbon land footprint, etc.
– Cropland footprint comprises of the area of land needed to cultivate all the crop products. It includes livestock feed, fish meal, oil crops, rubber, etc. The footprint of each crop type is calculated as the area of cropland that would be required to produce the harvested quantity at average yield of the world.
– Grazing land footprint comprises the area of grassland used to support the livestock. Grazing land includes all the grass lands i.e. cultivated pastures, wild grasslands and temperate grasslands like prairies or savanna.
– Forest footprint comprises the annual harvest of fuel wood and timber to supply the forest products. It includes the forest land footprint according to the production quantities of the primary timber products and wood fuel products.
– Fishing ground foot print comprises of the primary production needed to support all harvested species of aquatic animals. Primary production is the mass ratio of harvested fish to annual primary production of plats, algae, etc. needed to support the fish species based on its average trophic level.
– Built upland footprint comprises of the land area covered by the human infrastructure like roads, car parking area, buildings, etc.
– Carbon land footprint comprises of the uptake land to mitigate the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. It is the only land use type whose productivity has not been clearly explained. Many varying types of ecosystems like cropland and grassland have the capacity for long-term carbon dioxide storage. Carbon uptake land is also sometimes taken into account as forest land by the ecological footprint methods in order to prevent overestimation. So, carbon land is also regarded to be a subcategory of the forest land.
What is ecological footprint and why is it important?
Ecological footprint is important as they are area of productive ecosystems like crop and forest land, water bodies, etc. situated outside the side which are required to sustain life in the city.
– According to Global Foot Print Network, ecological footprints measure how much nature we have and how much nature we use. An ecological footprint is important because it measures how much area of land and water we need to produce the energy, food, land for settlements, timber, seafood, etc., and to absorb the waste we generate.
– The ecological footprint has become crucial in today’s context relating to the global warming.
– The ecological footprint is a resource accounting tool which help the countries to manage their ecological resources and secure their future.
How does ecological footprint affect the environment?
The ecological footprint negatively affects the environment when we use a self-centric lifecycle not good for the environment. The examples are listed as follows:
The fossil fuels and fire that we use daily produce very much carbon dioxide emissions
The clothes that we choose to wear without considering the effects on environment (E.g.: a pair of simple jeans requires 1800 gallons of water daily which badly affects the water bodies). Similarly, the big craze for lots of fashionable clothes finally increases the level of landfill wastes.
We choose variety of food that demands high amount of land and resources, agricultural products resulting in rapid deforestation, our preference of travelling in private vehicles and taxis result in vigorous extraction of reserve oil from the natural reserves underneath the earth’s surface which takes several million years of formation and sadly, it is burned within seconds.
The solid garbage and wastes from home, factories and different workplaces require a separate land along with negative impacts on the environment. When the garbage are dumped in open places, it can be easily understood as the reservoir of harmful diseases.
These type of lifestyles if continued, will require two and half planets like earth for sustaining life as one earth will be very small to sustain these.
Is ecological footprint good or bad?
Ecological footprint is good in the sense that it helps in the utilization of natural resources and sustaining of the human existence. But, ecological footprint becomes bad when it exceeds the bio-capacity resulting in ecological deficit i.e. a territory or a country has to do be debt on others for ecological ‘capital’. The ecological footprint becomes bigger every time we use the natural resources, so we should maintain small ecological footprints. Simply, ecological footprint becomes bad when the resources need is greater than resources availability.
What causes ecological footprint?
Ecological footprint is the imprint we leave every time we use the nature, when we use the water or energy, and produce waste. Ecological footprint becomes bigger in course of time. So, it is what we want to keep small for the sake of nature and humanity.
How do I reduce my ecological footprint?
We can reduce our ecological footprints by using as less resources as we can, implementing the concept of reuse and recycle in daily practical life. This helps in the production of less wastes if it is applied practically and seriously in daily life. If we choose a lifestyle in which we choose to reduce the use of energy as much as possible, use the available resources efficiently, use of green energy and replacing the use of vehicles emitting carbon dioxide with the use of cycle, filling our appetite with enough food not wasting it, turning off the appliances when not needed, etc. If we realize what the earth is going through or how much pressure we have been putting upon the earth by leaving our huge ecological footprints, then with a positive mentality, we can reduce own ecological footprint.
What is a good ecological footprint?
A good ecological footprint is the one which shows the demands or requirements of the people in daily life and the wastes produced by their consumption (ecological footprint) is not exceeding the capacity of the nature to absorb the wastes and recycle them forming new ones (bio-capacity). The good ecological footprint shows the condition of the sustainability i.e. the resources need and consumption is equal to the availability of the resources.
What country has the highest ecological footprint?
According to the present data of 2021, China is the country having the world’s highest ecological footprint as it has the world’s largest population and also the highest per capita ecological footprint.
What is the definition of ecological?
The definition of ecological is simply anything related to ‘ecology’ i.e. the distribution and abundance of organisms and the relation of biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem.
What country has the smallest ecological footprint?
According to the present data of 2021, Eritrea, Haiti, Barundi, Pakistan, Timor-Leste, etc. are the countries having the world’s smallest ecological footprint.
What is ecological footprint per person?
The ecological footprint has been estimated to 5.1 hectares per person in the United States, 4.3 hectares per person in Canada and 0.4 hectares per person in India.
Why should I reduce my ecological footprint?
We should reduce our ecological footprint because if utilization exceeds production, creation of a huge problem is obvious. The nature not only generates resources for the humanity but also absorb the wastes produced by human beings, recycle them naturally and generate the new resources. The increase in ecological footprint will surely cause great imbalance in the environment. Today, we are not only exhausting our earth’s resources but also killing those beings which are the sharing the planet with us by our actions, by disturbing as well as destroying their habitat.
What is ecological footprint in simple words?
In simple words, Global Footprint Network has defined ecological footprint as the quantity of nature utilized to support the people or their economy or lifestyle. The ecological footprint quantifies the main six categories of ecological assets like cropland, grazing land, fishing grounds, built-up land, forest area and carbon demand which a specific population needs to generate the natural resources for consumption and to absorb its waste special the carbon emissions. The ecological footprint measures the bio-capacity of geographical territory and shows the productivity of the ecological assets.