Ecological footprint (EF) and biocapacity: What are they?
Over the last few years ‘ecological footprint’ has become a widely used measure to figure how much of the earth’s resources are being used by a person, a community/country, or an activity (see www.footprintnetwork.org). This takes into account the amount of land and water area that would be required to produce the resources needed, and to absorb the wastes that are generated. In such a calculation the prevalent technologies and management options are considered, not possible future ones. It is estimated that each person can use upto about 1.8 global hectares (which is a hectare with a world average ability to produce resources and absorb wastes) without depleting the earth’s bioresources. This is by no means a perfect measure of humanity’s impact on the planet, eg it leaves out activities such as freshwater use; and significantly, it does not take into account the resources/space required by other species. But it is a good approximation, and therefore has gained widespread usage. A per
