Give feedback on this pageEcological Footprint
The Ecological Footprint (EF) is an aggregate (ecological) indicator of sustainable development. The EF provides an indication of the human demand on the Earth’s ecosystems. In essence the EF assesses the human carrying capacity in a defined area. It answers the question of how large an area of biologically productive land and water is required to continuously support a defined population through the provision of food, resources and energy and to assimilate the wastes we produce.
The Earth’s biocapacity is the total amount of biologically productive area that is available to meet humanity’s needs. The fair earthshare is the equal distribution of the Earth's biocapacity among the global population. The current world average EF has exceeded the Earth's biocapacity and has exceeded this for some time. The WWF Living Planet Report provides an update on the state of the world's ecosystems and can be viewed from the WWF website (follow link on left).
The Resource Accounting for Sustainable Consumption and Production in the UK (REAP) has produced an EF for each local authority in the UK. You can access this local authority Ecological Footprint and Carbon Dioxide data free of charge from the REAP website (follow link on the left). The REAP calculation for Welsh Local Authorities indicate Denbighshire as having a relatively high EF, 4th greatest in Wales. Despite this all counties in Wales have an EF greater than the Wales biocapacity and the Fair earthshare.
You can calculate your own personal Ecological Footprint using the WWF footprint calculator and identify how great a land demand you have on the planet by following the link on the left.