Every action we take—from the food we eat, and the choices we make to the energy we use—leaves a mark on the planet. This mark is known as our ecological footprint, a measure of how much land and water is required to support our lifestyle and absorb the waste one generates.
As the human population grows and resources become scarcer, understanding the concept of ecological footprint becomes more important.
What is Ecological Footprint?
Ecological footprint is defined as,
“The amount of biologically productive land and water needed to supply the people in a particular country or area with resources and to absorb and recycle the waste and pollution produced by such resource use.”
“is a method that determines how dependent humans are on natural resources.” “generally expressed in global hectares (gha), and allows professionals to determine the land area required by each human to sufficiently meet their needs.”
The concept of ecological footprint was given by William Rees and Mathis Wackernagel in 1990 at the University of British Columbia. They published Our Ecological Footprint in 1996.
The ecological footprint includes the land needed for:
- Growing crops
- Grazing livestock
- Harvesting timber
- Fishing
- Urban development
- Absorbing carbon dioxide emissions
The ecological footprint measures the biologically productive land and water needed to sustain people’s consumption and absorb generated waste.
It quantifies how much we rely on Earth’s ecosystems to support human activity.
The term is measured in global hectares (gha), representing a standardized unit of biologically productive area or biocapacity. One hectare equals approximately 2.47 acres.
Biocapacity
Global Footprint Network defines biocapacity as,
“the area of biologically productive land and ocean area to provide food, fiber, and timber, accommodate urban infrastructure, and absorb excess CO2. “
“The average biocapacity per person for the entire world is 1.6 global hectares.”
Resources and Sustainability
A resource can be defined as anything obtained from the environment to meet human needs and wants. Natural resource management and conservation are essential for sustainability.
There are resources that are directly available to us, for example, solar energy. While petroleum and natural gas are indirectly available.
Solar energy is a Perpetual resource; it is renewed continuously.
Renewable resources can be replenished naturally. The highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing its available supply is called Sustainable Yield.
Environmental degradation is the process where the use of resources exceeds sustainable yield resulting in the shrinking of available supply.
| Rank | Country | Total Ecological Footprint (in gha) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 5,100,000,000 |
| 2 | United States | 2,600,000,000 |
| 3 | India | 1,480,000,000 |
| 4 | Russia | 848,000,000 |
| 5 | Brazil | 551,000,000 |
| 6 | Japan | 533,000,000 |
| 7 | Indonesia | 454,000,000 |
| 8 | Germany | 392,000,000 |
| 9 | Mexico | 315,000,000 |
| 10 | France | 312,000,000 |
In today’s world, environmental awareness and responsibility are crucial for ensuring a sustainable future. One important concept that helps individuals understand their impact on the planet is the ecological footprint.
Ecological Deficit
When an area’s ecological footprint is larger than its biological capacity to replenish its resources and absorb the resulting waste and pollution, this is termed as “Ecological Deficit”.
An ecological deficit occurs when a population’s demand on nature exceeds the area’s biological capacity to regenerate resources and absorb waste.
Ecological Footprint Per Capita
According to Global Footprint Network, the Ecological Footprint per person or per capita is a nation’s total Ecological Footprint divided by the total population of the nation.
How much of Earth’s renewable resources are consumed by an individual is defined by Per Capita Ecological Footprint.
| Rank | Country | Total Biocapacity per Capita (gha) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | French Guiana | 91.8 |
| 2 | Suriname | 77.0 |
| 3 | Guyana | 71.4 |
| 4 | Gabon | 18.0 |
| 5 | Faroe Islands | 15.2 |
| 6 | Canada | 14.5 |
| 7 | Mongolia | 14.2 |
| 8 | Niue | 14.0 |
| 9 | Iceland | 13.8 |
| 10 | Bolivia | 13.7 |
In 2023, the average global ecological footprint per person was 2.6 gha, while the Earth’s biocapacity was only 1.5 gha per person.
How Can I Reduce My Ecological Footprint?
Using energy-efficient appliances, renewable energy sources, sustainable transportation, eco-friendly products, water conservation, minimizing waste production, and applying reduce, reuse, and recycle approaches can all have a positive influence on the ecological footprint.
To reduce your ecological footprint, limit the consumption of resources such as food, water, and energy. Make conscious efforts to conserve natural resources.
Choose eco-friendly products that are sustainable and environmentally responsible. Minimize waste by recycling and composting whenever possible, ensuring that materials are repurposed rather than discarded.
Additionally, support businesses and initiatives that prioritize sustainability and environmental responsibility.
The ecological footprint of individuals, communities, and countries has expanded due to greater resource usage, population increase, pollution, and ecosystems and environmental degradation.
The scientific community calls for a modern environmental or sustainability revolution that includes learning to reduce our ecological footprint and adapting sustainably-driven lifestyles.
Ecological footprint, thus, becomes an important measuring unit. It measures the impact of an individual or community on the environment, expressed in terms of the amount of land and resources required to sustain their lifestyle.
Ecological footprint takes into account many factors that include energy consumption, food choices, water usage, transportation means, and waste generation.
Tragedy of Commons
Human tendency lies in the overexploitation of commonly shared resources. These resources are categorized into 3 property domains including:
- Common property: large groups of individuals hold the rights over certain resources. For example, arable land belonging to a village community can be used by people for grazing cows or sheep.
- Private property: where individuals or firms own the rights to land, materials, or other resources.
- Open access: there are types of resources that are not owned by anyone and are available for access for all. For example, water supplies, the ocean and its fish, birds, and animals for hunting, clean air, solar energy, etc.
However, the problem with common property is that they are easily degraded due to excessive use without any regard to their environmental sustainability.
Garrett Hardin, in 1968, gave the concept of ‘The Tragedy of Commons‘, which states that,
“if I do not use this resource someone else will use it. The little bit that I use or pollute is not enough to matter, and anyway, it’s a renewable resource.”
This scenario often plays out in common property and open-access resources (e.g., oceans, air, and fisheries).
This concept highlights that there will be an average rise in resource consumption. People will end up using resources beyond the sustainable yield. This would eventually result in an ecological deficit.
Many areas will lose their biological capacity to replenish resources and absorb the resulting waste and pollution from consumption patterns.
The consequences of this can lead to resource depletion and environmental degradation, contributing to ecological deficits.
| Rank | Country | Total Biocapacity (gha) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil | 1,760,000,000 |
| 2 | United States | 1,240,000,000 |
| 3 | China | 1,160,000,000 |
| 4 | Russia | 1,100,000,000 |
| 5 | Canada | 544,000,000 |
| 6 | India | 492,000,000 |
| 7 | Indonesia | 336,000,000 |
| 8 | Australia | 291,000,000 |
| 9 | Argentina | 245,000,000 |
| 10 | Colombia | 189,000,000 |
With increasing human population density, the tragedy of commons will worsen with more severe environmental consequences. Individuals will prefer personal gains over environmental and community values.
There’s always the tendency to overexploit a common property resource for better life comforts and luxury. The type of ownership of certain resources affects the process of achieving environmental sustainability.
Ecological Footprint vs Carbon Footprint
Carbon Footprint is the total amount of greenhouse emissions caused directly or indirectly by an individual, organization, event, or product.
Carbon footprint is measured in tones of Carbon dioxide equivalent or in CO2e. Other greenhouse gasses are converted into equivalent quantities of CO2 for a better understanding of the footprint.
Carbon Footprint describes the best estimate for the full climate change impact something can cause. This something could be an individual action, an activity, an item, a choice, a lifestyle decision, a company, a project, a plan, a program, a nation or country, or even the world as a whole. Carbon sequestration helps mitigate carbon footprints by capturing and storing CO2 from the atmosphere.
The ecological footprint is a broader concept in terms of our impact on the environment. It accounts for all resources consumed, pollution, and waste generated.
Whereas the carbon footprint specifically measures greenhouse gas emissions, expressed in CO2 equivalents (CO2e), produced by an individual, product, or activity over its lifetime. This calculation includes various gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, which contribute to climate change.
Ecological footprint is measured in global hectares (area). Carbon footprint is expressed in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).
Both concepts are important but serve different environmental metrics. However, both footprints highlight some common issues like fossil fuel burning, CO2 emissions, and the depletion of natural resources.
Both concepts are important in highlighting the long-term negative effects of human activity.
In general, ecological footprint measures human impact on Earth’s ecosystems and resources, while carbon footprint focuses on human activities’ contributions to climate change.
Ecological footprint is a broader measure, covering resource consumption and waste production, while carbon footprint focuses specifically on greenhouse gas emissions.
