106
the effects of socio-economic activity intensity. Moreover, considering that it is the country's
capital and one of its metropoles, it is assumed to reflect the ecological state of the country.
Nevertheless, the wilaya of Tipaza is a striking case, since it was selected mainly for its less
intense activity and significant natural assets (wider marine area and forests).
The ratio between the EF of Algiers (calculated) and the EF of Algeria (GFN, 2014) indicates
that the EF of an Algeriers’ citizen is eight times that of an average Algerian. While its surface
area equals 0.03% of the national territory, and its biocapacity hardly exceeds 0.8%. Based on
the rationale of a GFN study (GFN/Mava, 2015), the theoretical area that Algiers requires for
its development exceeds the national capacity by more than 200%, meaning that Algiers
consumes beyond its administrative boundaries. Thus, Algiers follows the same trend as some
Mediterranean cities (Cairo, Athens, and Tunis). It is worth noting that besides its local
residents, the wilaya of Algiers is a host to an important flux of “temporary population” which
enters the city on a daily basis. Indeed, aside from its permanent population, residents of
nearby wilayas such as Blida, Boumerdes and Tipaza join the city every day for multiple
purposes, including work with about 130,000 trips made daily, according to the SDAAM
35
(Safar-Zitoun & Tabti-Talamai, 2009). Additionally, the consumption discrepancy between
Algiers and the other wilayas of the country is substantial in several domains. For instance,
the wilaya of Algiers boasts public lighting four times more important than that of the wilayas
of Sidi Bel Abes and El Taref and five times more than that of the wilaya of Bechar (SONELGAZ,
2018). Another example is household and similar waste production, in which Algiers produces
1.26 times more waste than the wilayas of Jijel, Constantine, M'Sila, and Ouergla combined
(AND, 2018; 2020). By comparison, the demand for bioproductive areas in Tipaza does not
exceed 13% for 2% of the population, living in 0.09% of Algeria. It is in the same range as cities
like Valencia (Spain) and Genoa (Italy), although the area ratio between these cities and their
country is significantly lower.
In addition to a final diagnosis of the ecological status of each wilaya, the bottom-up model
provides further description. The latter helps to understand the overshoot occurrence. In both
wilaya, the footprint associated with energy use, thus the carbon EF is the highest component.
This carbon EF is associated with every considered activity in both wilayas. We suppose that
the overshoot in CO2 emissions and uptake zones could be related to an overestimation,
primarily due to data scarcity regarding energy use, which had to be generated by other
integrated analysis, such as the urban metabolism analysis and life cycle assessment (LCA).
Regarding the energy land footprint or the EF of sequestration areas, the footprint considerers
"forests" areas (Ewing et al., 2010). However, it is not the only carbon offset mechanism
(Blomqvisk et al., 2013; UNFCCC, 2018), as more than 80% of the carbon cycles through the
oceans (IUCN, 2017). Indeed, marine and coastal ecosystems represent one of the major
carbon pools (blue carbon). For instance, the total carbon content in seagrass and salt marshes
35
SDAAM Schéma Directeur l’aménagement de l’Aire Métropolitaine D’Alger (Master plan of the Algiers
metropolitain area).
the effects of socio-economic activity intensity. Moreover, considering that it is the country's
capital and one of its metropoles, it is assumed to reflect the ecological state of the country.
Nevertheless, the wilaya of Tipaza is a striking case, since it was selected mainly for its less
intense activity and significant natural assets (wider marine area and forests).
The ratio between the EF of Algiers (calculated) and the EF of Algeria (GFN, 2014) indicates
that the EF of an Algeriers’ citizen is eight times that of an average Algerian. While its surface
area equals 0.03% of the national territory, and its biocapacity hardly exceeds 0.8%. Based on
the rationale of a GFN study (GFN/Mava, 2015), the theoretical area that Algiers requires for
its development exceeds the national capacity by more than 200%, meaning that Algiers
consumes beyond its administrative boundaries. Thus, Algiers follows the same trend as some
Mediterranean cities (Cairo, Athens, and Tunis). It is worth noting that besides its local
residents, the wilaya of Algiers is a host to an important flux of “temporary population” which
enters the city on a daily basis. Indeed, aside from its permanent population, residents of
nearby wilayas such as Blida, Boumerdes and Tipaza join the city every day for multiple
purposes, including work with about 130,000 trips made daily, according to the SDAAM
35
(Safar-Zitoun & Tabti-Talamai, 2009). Additionally, the consumption discrepancy between
Algiers and the other wilayas of the country is substantial in several domains. For instance,
the wilaya of Algiers boasts public lighting four times more important than that of the wilayas
of Sidi Bel Abes and El Taref and five times more than that of the wilaya of Bechar (SONELGAZ,
2018). Another example is household and similar waste production, in which Algiers produces
1.26 times more waste than the wilayas of Jijel, Constantine, M'Sila, and Ouergla combined
(AND, 2018; 2020). By comparison, the demand for bioproductive areas in Tipaza does not
exceed 13% for 2% of the population, living in 0.09% of Algeria. It is in the same range as cities
like Valencia (Spain) and Genoa (Italy), although the area ratio between these cities and their
country is significantly lower.
In addition to a final diagnosis of the ecological status of each wilaya, the bottom-up model
provides further description. The latter helps to understand the overshoot occurrence. In both
wilaya, the footprint associated with energy use, thus the carbon EF is the highest component.
This carbon EF is associated with every considered activity in both wilayas. We suppose that
the overshoot in CO2 emissions and uptake zones could be related to an overestimation,
primarily due to data scarcity regarding energy use, which had to be generated by other
integrated analysis, such as the urban metabolism analysis and life cycle assessment (LCA).
Regarding the energy land footprint or the EF of sequestration areas, the footprint considerers
"forests" areas (Ewing et al., 2010). However, it is not the only carbon offset mechanism
(Blomqvisk et al., 2013; UNFCCC, 2018), as more than 80% of the carbon cycles through the
oceans (IUCN, 2017). Indeed, marine and coastal ecosystems represent one of the major
carbon pools (blue carbon). For instance, the total carbon content in seagrass and salt marshes
35
SDAAM Schéma Directeur l’aménagement de l’Aire Métropolitaine D’Alger (Master plan of the Algiers
metropolitain area).