GY121 - The Ecological Footprint

How is comparing EF to to the PAT of IPAT useful?

-carbon footprint increase either by increased population, consumption or technology

How does the EF use biocapacity?

-compares biocapacity with what it can offer in terms of natural services/resources -if footprint is higher than the biocapacity of the land there is an ecological deficit - unsustainable

What are the benefits of the EF?

-countries measure national emissions from domestic products BUT carbon leakage as pollution exported elsewhere - takes into account accountability -overcome issue of valuation -accessible to policy makers -looks at consumption -same benefit as SS -looked at at any scale

What are the 5 types of biocapacity and the 6 products of these types?

-cropland, grazing land, fishing grounds, forests, built up areas - 6 products as forests provide timber and co2 absorption

What are the limitations of the Water Footprint?

-doesn't assess risks of nuclear energy e.g. no co2 emissions but nuclear accident damage global biocapacity -i.e. doesn't take into account ecological footprint

How do you calculate the GHA?

-estimate the demand by tracking use/waste -impact of bioproductivity estimated -aggregate factors: natures supply + human demand compared by GHA units

What is the Ecological Footprint and what does it measure? (Wackernagel and Rees 1994)

-measures strong sustainability -calculates the number of planets needed to sustain a certain population/individual's needs given the technology and lifestyle

What are the issues of measuring WS?

-misses future 'shocks' of environmental damage, unforeseeable environmental threshold -computation issues where there may not be much available data, difficulties in valuing nature -consumer biased

What are the limitations of EF?

-only seeks to measure human impact - policy requires more e.g. motivation -no evaluation of policy (although could do this itself) -neo-malthusian -static - doesn't look at future -aggregate indicator - lose detail -doesn't include Virtual Water

Is Virtual Water a big issue?

-same amount of water in the planet just moves around BUT water moved from drought prone areas (esp. developing countries) doesn't go back into local water system

What is a GHA?

-the global hectare -hectare adjusted for the respective biocapacity -natural rate of regeneration for each of the 5 types of biocapacity -standardized, bioproductivity of average hectare weighted on importance of biodiversity =represents natural resources/services offered by world average bioproductive area

How is WS measured?

-total stock of wealth the same, genuine savings -Genuine savings is a one-sided indicator therefore negative values mean unsustainable practices

What is a Water Footprint?

-virtual water issue of trading around the world -based on consumption and international trade