Ecological Footprint

To protect our home, the Earth, we must know how we affect it. Each of us has an impact on our planet. The Ecological Footprint helps us understand how much land and water is needed to produce the resources that we consume, and to get rid of the waste that we produce.

Today, humanity's Ecological Footprint is already over 30 percent larger than what the world can offer. This means we are overusing the planet and liquidating its ecological assets. Examples of our overuse include deforestation, collapsing fisheries, and the build-up of heat-trapping carbon in the atmosphere. At the same time, a significant percentage of the world's people do not have enough resources to meet basic survival needs.

To overcome this sustainability challenge, we need to do a better job of budgeting our planet's limited resources. Nature provides an average of 2.1 hectares (5.3 acres) of biologically productive space for every person in the world. By 2050 that available space will be reduced to 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres) per person if predictions of global population are accurate. Also, some of this area must be set aside for the estimated 10 million other species on the planet.

On average, people use 2.8 hectares, but there is a wide range. In some countries, the average is as low as 0.5 hectares, while others use as much as 12 hectares per person. Even within any given country, individuals' footprints vary widely.

By more carefully tracking human impacts on the Earth's resources, we can learn what needs to be done in order to protect our natural assets. We can all be part of the solution. Together, we can reshape the global economy in a way that will allow all people to meet their essential needs without destroying the limited capacity of our planet.

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© Khorsheed.com - Apr 2002