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> Ecological footprint |
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| Ecological footprint |
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Why work on ecological footprint?
WWF-UK's work on ecological footprint
WWF network's work on ecological footprint
Why the Ecological Footprint?
According to WWF's Living Planet Index 2004, a third of the Earth's natural wealth has been destroyed since 1972. This includes our wildlife, forests, rivers and seas.
Much, if not all, of this destruction results from human consumption - which is now completely unsustainable, and is posing a serious threat not only to the natural world, but to all of us.
WWF is committed to exploring alternative lifestyles based around sustainable consumption. We are doing this through our One Million Sustainable Homes campaign; our new PowerSwitch! global drive for sustainable energy procurement; and through the Forest Stewardship Council, which sets an international standard for products that come from well-managed forests.
However, so that we can all develop sustainable initiatives, we need to understand and measure the global environmental impact of our everyday decisions and actions. We also need to know where change is most beneficial and most needed - whether at a policy, economic, business or personal level.
WWF's Ecological Footprint Programme has been developed to meet this need.
The Ecological Footprint is one way of measuring how our lifestyles impact not only on the planet, but also on other people. It calculates how much productive land and sea is needed to feed us and provide all the energy, water and materials we use in our everyday lives. It also calculates the emissions generated from the oil, coal and gas we burn at ever-increasing rates, and it determines how much land is required to absorb our waste. Measuring and reducing our ecological footprint is one of WWF's aims.
WWF-UK
What are we setting out to achieve?
- the vision is that, by 2030, the global ecological footprint is sustainable;
- the goal is that, by 2012, the UK's ecological footprint is no longer increasing; and
- the aim for the short term is that the government and devolved administrations accept responsibility for the global impact of UK consumption and that by 2006, they have adopted strategies to reduce that impact.
Our work
To achieve these goals, WWF is working in the following five key areas:
- Calculating the UK's ecological footprint
An ecological footprint will be calculated for the entire UK (see Ecological Budget for further details on Footprint calculations or visit www.regionalsustainability.org for information on calculation methods ). This will provide national, devolved, regional and local government with data on the current status of the UK's ecological footprint and will be the basis on which reduction strategies can be developed.
- Lobbying national and local government
WWF will lobby national, devolved, regional and local governments to convince them of the need to take action against over-consumption and the impacts of the ecological footprint.
- Case studies
Through project work around the UK, WWF will develop models and case studies to demonstrate ecological footprint strategies at local and regional levels. These will be used to convince governments to adopt ecological footprint reduction strategies
- Engagement, Communications and Education
One of the main challenges of the ecological footprint programme is to introduce people to the concept of reducing their own ecological footprint. Greater engagement with ecological footprint reduction strategies will be achieved by developing methods for communicating and educating key people and groups such as local authorities and citizens in their area.
- Reducing WWF's own footprint
We will also calculate WWF-UK's own ecological footprint and set a reduction strategy, thereby enabling us to demonstrate ecological footprint reduction to the wider WWF network.
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WWF-UK > Research > >Ecological footprint
