World Foot Print

8/12/2019 World Foot Print

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INTRODUCTION

Youve probably heard of the Ecological Footprint - the metric that

allows us to calculate human pressure on the planet and come up

with facts, such as: If everyone lived thelifestyleof the averageAmerican we would need 5 planetsIt examines the benefits of

ecological accounting, introduces some of the most important

Footprint findings, and addresses provocative questions: Do we fit

on the planet? How can the Footprint foster sustainable human

development? How do carbon emissions contribute to humanitys

Ecological Footprint

Humanity needs what nature provides, but how do we know how much

were using and how much we have to use?The Ecological Footprint hasemerged as the worlds premier measure of humanitys demand on

nature. This accounting system tracks, on the demand side (Footprint),

how much land and water area a human population uses to provide all it

takes from nature. This includes the areas for producing the resource it

consumes, the space for accommodating its buildings and roads, and the

ecosystems for absorbing its waste emissions such as carbon dioxide.

These calculations account for each years prevailing technology, as

productivity and technological efficiency change from year to year. Theaccounting system also tracks the supply of nature: it documents how

much biologically productive area is available to provide these services

(biocapacity). Therefore, these accounts are able to compare human

demand against natures supply of biocapacity.

World Footprint

Do we fit on the planet?

Today humanity uses the equivalent of 1.5 planets to provide the

resources we use and absorb our waste. This means it now takes the

Earth one year and six months to regenerate what we use in a year.
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Moderate UN scenarios suggest that if current population and

consumption trends continue, by the 2030s, we will need the equivalent

of two Earths to support us. And of course, we only have one.

Turning resources into waste faster than waste can be turned back intoresources puts us in global ecologicalovershoot,depleting the very

resources on which human life and biodiversity depend.

The result is collapsing fisheries, diminishing forest cover, depletion of

fresh water systems, and the build up of carbon dioxide emissions,

which creates problems like global climate change. These are just a few

of the most noticeable effects of overshoot.

Overshoot also contributes to resource conflicts and wars, mass

migrations, famine, disease and other human tragediesand tends to

have adisproportionate impact on the poor,who cannot buy their way

out of the problem by getting resources from somewhere else.

Ending Overshoot

The Earth provides all that we need to live and thrive. So what will it

take for humanity to live within the means of one planet?

Individuals and institutions worldwide must begin to recognize

ecological limits. We must begin to make ecological limits central to our

decision-making and use human ingenuity to find new ways to live,

within the Earths bounds.

This means investing in technology and infrastructure that will allow us

to operate in a resource-constrained world. It means taking individual

action, and creating the public demand forbusinessesandpolicy

makersto participate.Using tools like theEcological Footprintto manage our ecological assets

is essential for humanitys survival and success. Knowing how much

nature we have, how much we use, and who uses what is the first step,

and will allow us to track our progress as we work toward our goal of

sustainable, one-planet living.
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Earth Overshoot Day

In 8 Months, Humanity Exhausts Earth's Budget for the Year

Just as a bank statement tracks income against expenditures, GlobalFootprint Network measures humanitys demand for and supply of

natural resources and ecological services. And the data is sobering.

Global Footprint Network estimates that in approximately eight months,

we demand more renewable resources and C02sequestration than what

the planet can provide for an entire year.

In 2012, Earth Overshoot Daythe approximate date our resource

consumption for a given year exceeds the planets ability to replenish

fell on August 22. This year, it will likely come even earlier. We willthen go intoecological overshoot,and make up the deficit by drawing

down local resource stocks and accumulating more carbon dioxide in the

atmosphere.

Earth Overshoot Day, a concept originally developed by Global

Footprint Network partner and U.K. think tanknew economics

foundation,is the annual marker of when we begin living beyond our

means in a given year. While only a rough estimate of time and resource

trends, Earth Overshoot Day is as close as science can be to measuringthe gap between our demand for ecological resources and services, and

how much the planet can provide.

Humanity's Consumption of Resources

The Cost of Ecological Overspending

Throughout most of history, humanity has used natures resources to

build cities and roads, to provide food and create products, and to absorb

our carbon dioxide at a rate that was well within Earths budget. But inthe mid-1970s, we crossed a critical threshold: Human consumption

began outstripping what the planet could reproduce.

According to Global Footprint Networks calculations, our demand for

renewable ecological resources and the services they provide is now
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equivalent to that of more than 1.5 Earths. The data shows us on track to

require the resources of two planets well before mid-century.

The fact that we are using, or spending, our natural capital faster than

it can replenish is similar to having expenditures that continuouslyexceed income. In planetary terms, the costs of our ecological

overspending are becoming more evident by the day. Climate changea

result of greenhouse gases being emitted faster than they can be

absorbed by forests and oceansis the most obvious and arguably

pressing result. But there are othersshrinking forests, species loss,

fisheries collapse, higher commodity prices and civil unrest, to name a

few. The environmental and economic crises we are experiencing are

symptoms of looming catastrophe. Humanity is simply using more than

what the planet can provide.

Methodology and Projections

In 2011, Earth Overshoot Day came a few weeks later than it did in

2010. Does this mean we reduced global overshoot? The answer,

unfortunately, is no.

Earth Overshoot Day is an estimate, not an exact date. Its not possible

to determine with 100 percent accuracy the day we bust our ecologicalbudget. Adjustments of the date that we go into overshoot are due to

revised calculations, not ecological advances on the part of humanity.

Based on current assumptions, Global Footprint Network data now

suggests that since 2001, Earth Overshoot Day has been moving three

days earlier each year.

As Global Footprint Network methodology changes, projections will

continue to shift. But every scientific model used to account for human

demand and natures supply shows a consistent trend: We are well overbudget, and that debt is compounding. It is an ecological debt, and the

interest we are paying on that mounting debtfood shortages, soil

erosion, and the build-up of COin our atmospherecomes with

devastating human and monetary costs


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Footprint for Nations

In todays world, where humanity is already exceeding planetary limits,

ecological assets are becoming more critical. Each country has its own

ecological risk profile: Many are running ecological deficits, with

Footprints larger than their own biological capacity. Others depend

heavily on resources from elsewhere, which are under increasing

pressure.

In some areas of the world, the implications of ecological deficits can be

devastating, leading to resource loss, ecosystem collapse, debt, poverty,

famine and war.

TheEcological Footprintis a resource accounting tool that helps

countries understand their ecological balance sheet and gives them thedata necessary to manage their resources and secure their future.

Learn about the work we are doing and how we have engaged with 57

nations through our Ten-in-Ten Campaign.

National governments using the Footprint are able to:

1.Assess the value of their countrys ecological assets2.Monitor and manage their assets3.

Identify the risks associated with ecological deficits4.Set policy that is informed by ecological reality and makessafeguarding resources a top priority

5.Measure progress toward their goalsIt is almost certainly the case that countries and regions with surplus

ecological reservesnot the ones relying on continued ecological deficit

spendingwill emerge as the robust and sustainable economies and

societies of the future

What can the Footprint tell us about biodiversity?

While not a direct measure of species populations, the Ecological

Footprint provides an indicator of the pressure on ecosystems and

biodiversity by measuring the competing level of ecological demand that

humans place upon the biosphere.
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Global Ecological Footprint data show that humanity is using resources

and producing CO2 emissions at a rate 44 percent greater than what

nature can regenerate and reabsorb. This gap, known as ecological

overshoot, results in the depletion of the natural capital that all species

(including our own) depend on for their livelihood. It also results in theaccumulation of carbon dioxide that leads to climate change, with

profound implications for ecosystems and the species they support as

well as for our societies well being and economic stability.

Humanitys Ecological Footprint has grown 80 percent over the last four

decades. The greater the gap between human demand and natures

regenerative capacity, the more pressure there will be on the resources

other species need to survive, and the more perilously biodiversity will

be under threatLooking at the various consumption sectors that go into

the Ecological Footprint can provide us with a glimpse of the human

activities that are drivers of biodiversity loss.

Meeting the Biodiversity Challenge

A recentScience journalreport to which Global Footprint Network was

a contributor provided a stark assessment that the worlds governments

had not met the target set by the Convention on Biological Diversity,

and had instead presided over enormous declines.In October 2010, the parties to the CBD met in Nagoya, Japan to decide

whether to adopt a new biodiversity target and new indicators for the

post-2010 era. At the conference, the BIP presented a list of strategic

goals, including means, milestones and indicators, for achieving the

goals set forth in the CBD.

Ultimately halting species loss and enabling biodiversity to thrive will

require bringing human demand for ecological services into balance with

what nature can renewably supply.By advancing decision-making that takes resource limits into account,

Global Footprint Network is working to promote a world where the

reality of resource constraints is central to the national and international

policy debate, and where decision-makers understand the risks that
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resource limitation and declining biodiversity pose to our societies well-

being and economic stability

he Ecological Footprint and Biodiversity

The threats facing the rich array of plant and animal life on the planet

seem greater than at any time in modern history. Problems such as

climate change, water shortages, overharvesting and habitat disruption

symptoms of human pressure on the planets finite resourcesare

driving down wildlife populations worldwide.

In 2002, under the auspices of theConvention on Biological Diversity

(CBD)the leaders of the worlds governments committed tosignificantly halting the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. They adopted

a suite of indicators, brought together as theBiodiversity Indicators

Partnership (BIP),to provide information on biodiversity trends and

assess progress toward their target. Global Footprint Network is a BIP

Key Indicator Partner, and theEcological Footprinthas been officially

adopted by the CBD to be included among its biodiversity

Data and Results

TheNational Footprint Account 2011developed by Global Footprint

Network, provide comprehensive data on humanitys demand on nature.

They track how this demand compares across several over 200 countries,

territories, and regions, and how it relates to the planets biological

capacity to meet these demands.

Graphic country time trends for tracking per-person Ecological Footprint

and biocapacity since 1961 are available in the COUNTRY TRENDS

table to the right. Each country includes a link to a country factsheetcomparing changes between the past and current editions.

The annually updated National Footprint accounts undergo continuous

improvement under the advice of the National Accounts Review
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Committee. The latest method is described in theCalculation

Methodology Paper.

Obtaining DataThe National Footprint Accounts results are available under license for a

wide variety of applications including educational, research andcommercial purposes. To view a sample of the data tables, you may

click here to view theData Tables from a previous Editionof the

National Footprint Accounts, which show theEcological

Footprintandbiocapacityfor almost 150 nations.

Updated National Footprint Account results from the 2011 Edition are

available as follows:

Customized datasets are available for finance-related applications.Clickhereto see a description. Please write

[email protected] more information. Finance-

related applications include use by those in the finance and insurance

industries including investors, rating agencies, data providers, index

providers, fund managers, insurance companies, etc.)

For non finance-related purposes, please use our online requestform:Request for Dataset of National Footprint Account Results.

Obtaining National Footprint Account Workbooks

National Footprint Accounts Licenses are available for both commercialuse and non-commercial review under license. Free Learning Licenses

are available for personal and non-commercial purposes. Please see out

NFA License descriptions if you are interested in ordering aNational

Footprint Account license.

Additional Resources

TheGuidebook to the 2008 National Footprint Accountsdescribes the

implementation of the Ecological Footprint methodology as presented inthe 2008 edition for the National Footprint Accounts. It provides an in

depth description of each part of the 2008 NFA workbook, along with

detailed descriptions of calculations and data sources. An updated

version for the 2012 edition is coming soon.
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TheEcological Footprint Atlas 2010explains the purpose behind

Ecological Footprint accounting, addressing research questions and

basic concepts, as well as the underlying science of the calculations.

Giving examples of how the Ecological Footprint has been applied. For

the technical reader, the Atlas includes more detailed notes aboutcalculation of the results, explains recent advances to enhance the

consistency, reliability and resolution of the National Footprint

Accounts, and reviews the evolution of the National Footprint Accounts

methodology

CASE STUDIES

Community of Andean Nations

The CAN and its member nationsEcuador, Colombia, Bolivia and

Perubegan working with Global Footprint Network in early 2009 on

an initiative to maintain one of the CAN regions richest and most

important assets: its natural resource base. The initiative seeks to

demonstrate the interdependence between a countrys natural wealth, its

economic health and, ultimately, the well-being of its people.

As part of the initiative, the CAN launched avideo(in Spanish; seebelow) that explains this lofty concept in terms almost any family can

relate to. Its as if a family needed to adjust expenditures because of

having another child, the video explains, yet nevertheless, in spite of

these forces, the family continued to spend more money. Now,

however, the video says, the CAN is working to address that situation

in particular Ecuador, which has adopted specific Ecological Footprint

reduction goals.

The CAN has also released a preview version of a report on theEcological Footprint of the CAN countries that it will release with

Global Footprint Network in 2010. The teaser, which introduces people

to the concept of the Ecological Footprint and provides a snapshot of the

data, can be downloaded here inEnglish andSpanish. The longer report

will provide an in-depth look at the ecological trends in each of the
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member countries, along with perspectives and commentary by in-

country experts.

Philippines

The Philippines is on track to adopt the Ecological Footprint at thenational level. In 2011, the government began exploring ways to

incorporate the Ecological Footprint into its proposed National Land Use

Act for 2012. The legislation, a comprehensive national land-use policy,

will protect areas from haphazard development and plan for the

country's use and management of the country's physical resources. The

government will continue to work with Global Footprint Network in

2012-2013 to make the Philippines the first country in Southeast Asia to

adopt the Footprint at the national level. See the recently releasedPhilippines Ecological Footprint Report,"A Measure for Resilience."

Costa Rica

The Ecological Footprint and biocapacity data for Costa Rica were

included for the first time in the countrys annualState of Nation report,

an overview of national social, economic, environmental and political

issues. In it, Steffan Gmez, the reports chief researcher, attributed the

countrys growing Footprint to its increased consumption and pollution.

The Ecological Footprint was one of several indicators used in the report

to provide information relevant to public policy on sustainable human

development.

Argentina

The Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Industrial (INTI) have created a

new interdisciplinary working group: the Ecological Footprint and

biocapacity Program Argentina, to validate and provide data to measure

the ecological footprint at the national and sub-national (provincial,

departmental and/or municipal) levels.

CONCLUSION
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The world population is the total number of living humans on the planet

Earth, currently estimated to be 6.96 billion by the United States Census

Bureau as of July 1, 2011.

Today humanity uses the equivalent of 1.5 planets to provide the

resources we use and absorb our waste. This means it now takes the

Earth one year and six months to regenerate what we use in a year.

Moderate UN scenarios suggest that if current population and

consumption trends continue, by the 2030s, we will need the equivalent

of two Earths to support us.

The Ecological Footprinthas emerged as the worlds premier measure

of humanitys demand on nature. It measures how much land and water

area a human population requires to produce the resource it consumes

and to absorb its carbon dioxide emissions, using prevailing technology.

each country has its own ecological risk profile: Many are running

ecological deficits, with Footprints larger than their own biological

capacity. Others depend heavily on resources from elsewhere, which are

under increasing pressur

Documents

World Foot Print