Ecological footprint

The ecological footprint (EF), is a measure of the demands made by a person or group of people on global natural resources. It has become one of the most widely used measures of humanity’s effect upon the environment and has been used to highlight both the apparent unsustainability of current practices and the inequalities in resource consumption between and within countries.

What on earth is the ecological footprint?

Your EF is a way to measure how much land and resources you and your lifestyle require to sustain yourself.

Think of it this way: everything you use, consume, or do has an impact on the environment. From the food you eat to the clothes you wear, and even the energy you use at home. The EF calculates the amount of land and resources to your activities and to absorb the waste you produce.

People with smaller footprints are said to be living more sustainably, using renewable energy sources, reducing waste and consuming less.

To do: EF introduction [EF Key points download]

Complete the following definitions

    • Ecological footprint (EF)

    • Global hectares (gha)

  1. How is the EF measured?

  2. Label diagram that explains the components of the EF model.

  3. List the ways people reduce their EF

  4. Measure your own footprint at the Footprint calculator (Screenshot the results for later use)

  5. Explain the Ef to me like I am 15.

  6.  Describe the relationship between a country's population and its EF

1. Biocapacity

Biocapacity Earth's ability to sustainably provide resources and absorb waste. It is the planet's budget for ecosystem services. Biocapacity is a measure of the earths finite capacity to provide resources and absorb wastes. Biocapacity declines as ecosystems decline and their ability to provide services (provisioning, regulating supporting) is reduced.

EG If humans cut down trees faster than they can grow back, use water from rivers and lakes faster than they can be replenished, or emit more waste than natural processes can absorb, the biocapacity will decline as ecosystems start to degrade. Understanding biocapacity helps to make informed decisions about managing ecosystems sustainably. It's like balancing an account - you can only spend what can be sustainably regenerated and absorbed. By staying within Earth's biocapacity limits, ecosystems can continue to provide services.

The earth has 13.4 billion hectares of biologically productive land and water, we have 1.8 gha (Biocapacity) each.

To do: Biocapacity questions

  1. Complete the following definitions

    Biocapacity

    Ecological reserve /creditors

    Ecological deficit / debtor

  2. Annotate a graph of global biocapacity.

  3. Explain why Australia with an EF per capita of 8.2 is a creditor country and India with an EF per capita of 1.5 is a debtor country.

Exam questions.

  1. Refer to the graph Describe the relationship between GDP and the EF (2)

  2. Refer to the map. Explain the difference between an ecological creditor and an ecological debtor. (4)