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Exploring ecological footprints

Ecological footprint is an important measurement tool for local authorities who want to address sustainable development.

The bottom line for sustainable development is that we need to live within the capacity of the ecosystems that support us, both as individuals and communities.

The ecological footprint is a way of quantifying the environmental impact of a region, community or individual. It helps translate the aspiration for global sustainable development into practical steps for local and personal action.

At local level, footprinting can be used as:

a strategic management tool, identifying how over-consumption can be reduced towards a sustainable level
a cross-cutting theme in a range of strategies and plans
a source of baseline information and indicators
an awareness raising and educational tool.

Many councils and community planning bodies across the UK have found that undertaking ecological footprint work has brought significant benefits - bringing home the need for sustainable development to be considered in the individual and collective decisions we take.

More about ecological footprint

Ecological footprint is a measurement of the impact of human activity on nature. The footprint expresses the notional land and sea area - measured in global hectares (gha) - that is required to feed us, provide us with materials, produce energy, and get rid of the waste produced as a result of our activities. If all the biologically productive land and sea on the planet is divided by the number of people inhabiting it, our available footprint is 1.8gha per person. In the UK, the average footprint is nearer 5.4gha per person.

Each generation is entitled to the interest on the natural capital, but the principal should be handed on unimpaired

Canadian Conservation Committee, 1915