Ecological Footprints & Biocapacity

What is Ecological Footprints?

• The amount of human demand on nature

• The amount of land and sea needed for humans to use

• The amount of resources used

• To determine sustainability

• The amount of nature available and used

• Demand and supply of nature 

What is Biocapacity?

• Bio capacity is the planets ability to regenerate resources and absorb waste.

• It measures...

Resource generation (how much food, timber, and other biological materials ecosystems produce) as well as Waste Absorption (the capacity to absorb waste, esspeially human generated carbon dioxide)

• Its measured using Global hectares (gha) and is calculated using the United Nations data on population and land use

• It can be used as a sustainability indicator:  compared to the ecological footprint, it shows if humanity is living within the Earths.

• As well it is a resource management tool, helping asses a region's environmental health and resource availability.

How they work together?

• If the Ecological Footprint (demand) is greater than than the Biocapacity (supply), humanity is in ecological overshoot, meaning the natural capital (resources) are depleted.

Resources:

• https://www.footprintnetwork.org/our-work/ecological-footprint/ 

• https://www.footprintpartnership.net/what-is-ecoogical-footprint-and-biocapacity/ 

Where we are in the world?

• We are in the top largest in the world

• On average 7.4 to 8.3 gha per person, but the global average is 2.6 gha per person, therefore we are higher than the world average.