166
H. Schlör et al.
Footprint Network is presented [81], as it also serves as the basis for the WWF
Living planet report [78]. For the Global Footprint Network, the ecological footprint
accounting system is “a method for calculating society’s use of nature’s assets [12]”,
as the food, energy and water resources.
Wackernagel defines the ecological footprint as follows: “It compares humanity’s
ecological footprint (the demand our consumption places on the biosphere) with
biocapacity (the biosphere’s ability to meet this demand), providing a kind of bank
statement for the planet [12]”. The ecological footprint thus adds up the various
resources consumed by a given population and expresses them in units of productive land needed to provide these resources and to absorb its waste. The ecological
footprint defines sustainability as a measure for the use of nature by humans: “The
ecological footprint is a measure of how much biologically productive land and
water area an individual, a city, a country, a region, or humanity requires to produce
the resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates, using prevailing
technology and resource management schemes. This land and water area can be
anywhere in the world [76]”. Hence, “the global ecological footprint is [a] consequence of the increasing human demand for food, fibre, energy and water [75]” and
hence, a measure for the FEW-nexus.
The biocapacity measures the ability of the earth to regenerate itself and the
ecological footprint measures now the available biocapacity as well as the global
demand for this capacity. “The common measurement unit is global hectares:
biologically productive hectares with world average productivity. Thanks to this
common measurement unit, countries, regions, cities, individuals and products can
be compared across the world and over time [78]”.
The ecological footprint is based on seven sub-indices [80]: Cropland Index,
Grazing-Land Index, Fishing Index, Forest Index and the Indices for the capture of
waste (CO 2 , nuclear) and the Build-up Index [36, 77]. The fossil fuel footprint is
calculated on the basis of the area required to sequester the CO 2 emissions from fossil
fuels, minus the CO 2 emissions absorbed by the oceans [77]. Hence, the ecological
footprint measures the global impact of the current production and consumption
patterns on the food, energy and water sectors worldwide. The ecological footprint
put the focus on the current ecological realities on the stressed ecosystems [12].
The Global Footprint network calculated that in 2019 ca. 12.2 billion hectares
of biologically productive land and water were available, so that every person has
at his/her disposal 1.6 global hectares [25]. This area also accommodates “the wild
species that compete for the same biological material and spaces as humans [26]”.
The ecological footprint of a country or region summarizes the biological productive
area on earth, which is needed to provide the resources for its consumption patterns
under the current economic conditions [26].
H. Schlör et al.
Footprint Network is presented [81], as it also serves as the basis for the WWF
Living planet report [78]. For the Global Footprint Network, the ecological footprint
accounting system is “a method for calculating society’s use of nature’s assets [12]”,
as the food, energy and water resources.
Wackernagel defines the ecological footprint as follows: “It compares humanity’s
ecological footprint (the demand our consumption places on the biosphere) with
biocapacity (the biosphere’s ability to meet this demand), providing a kind of bank
statement for the planet [12]”. The ecological footprint thus adds up the various
resources consumed by a given population and expresses them in units of productive land needed to provide these resources and to absorb its waste. The ecological
footprint defines sustainability as a measure for the use of nature by humans: “The
ecological footprint is a measure of how much biologically productive land and
water area an individual, a city, a country, a region, or humanity requires to produce
the resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates, using prevailing
technology and resource management schemes. This land and water area can be
anywhere in the world [76]”. Hence, “the global ecological footprint is [a] consequence of the increasing human demand for food, fibre, energy and water [75]” and
hence, a measure for the FEW-nexus.
The biocapacity measures the ability of the earth to regenerate itself and the
ecological footprint measures now the available biocapacity as well as the global
demand for this capacity. “The common measurement unit is global hectares:
biologically productive hectares with world average productivity. Thanks to this
common measurement unit, countries, regions, cities, individuals and products can
be compared across the world and over time [78]”.
The ecological footprint is based on seven sub-indices [80]: Cropland Index,
Grazing-Land Index, Fishing Index, Forest Index and the Indices for the capture of
waste (CO 2 , nuclear) and the Build-up Index [36, 77]. The fossil fuel footprint is
calculated on the basis of the area required to sequester the CO 2 emissions from fossil
fuels, minus the CO 2 emissions absorbed by the oceans [77]. Hence, the ecological
footprint measures the global impact of the current production and consumption
patterns on the food, energy and water sectors worldwide. The ecological footprint
put the focus on the current ecological realities on the stressed ecosystems [12].
The Global Footprint network calculated that in 2019 ca. 12.2 billion hectares
of biologically productive land and water were available, so that every person has
at his/her disposal 1.6 global hectares [25]. This area also accommodates “the wild
species that compete for the same biological material and spaces as humans [26]”.
The ecological footprint of a country or region summarizes the biological productive
area on earth, which is needed to provide the resources for its consumption patterns
under the current economic conditions [26].