Ecological Footprint
Indicator
Ecological Footprint - global hectares per person.
Status
Current situation is improving but still overshooting
biocapacity.
Overview
The Ecological-Footprint is the work of the Stockholm Environment Institute as
part of the Resources and Energy Analysis Programme (REAP). It is a
means of measuring how much environmental impact an area makes as a
result of the people who live and work there. Globally, the eco
footprint is 2.7 hectares per person, while on average there is
only 2.1 hectares of biologically productive surface for each of us
on Earth - the 'biocapacity' (Global
Footprint Network, 2008). This means that the global ecological
footprint is greater than the available productive land. This
is called overshoot and is the result of the use of natural
resources more quickly than they can replenish. Today, globally we
use the equivalent of 1.3 planets annually to provide our resources
and absorb our waste. This global overuse of resources has been
around since the 1990's when global population reached over 5
billion. Prior to this, records indicate humanity's demand on
resources was manageable.
The UK has a much lager footprint than the global average at 5.3
Ha/capita from the latest available data (2004), well above the 1.6
Ha/capita biocapacity. The Country with the largest
ecological footprint is the USA (9.4gha/capita), overshooting their
5.0 gha/capita biocapacity by 4.4 gha/capita.
Performance
Table 1 indicates the latest ecological footprint data for
Worcestershire districts. Wychavon and Malvern Hills have the
greatest ecological footprint in Worcestershire, with Wyre Forest
and Redditch having the lowest. This is shown graphically in Figure
1. Wychavon has the second largest footprint in the West Midlands
region. Figure 2 highlights how the UK, West Midlands and
Worcestershire compare to the global average of 2.7 gha/capita. For
all Worcestershire districts, around half of their score is a
result of housing and food supply combined. This trend is seen
across the UK.
Since the 2007 ecological footprint update, Worcestershire's
footprint has reduced by 0.17gha/capita, while the UK average has
decreased by 0.1 gha/capita. However, globally, the ecological
footprint has risen from 2.2 gha/capita to 2.7 gha/capita over this
period of time.
Table 2 shows that for all Worcestershire districts, food and
housing has the greatest influence in their ecological footprints.
Areas of capital investment and private services have the
least impact on the ecological footprints.
Geographical Context
Worcestershire has a larger ecological footprint than the West
Midlands and UK average (Figure 1). All Worcestershire
districts individually have a larger ecological footprint than the
West Midlands average of 5.02gha/capita. On a national scale,
Worcestershire's footprint is 0.06 gha/capita above that of the UK.
Comparing Worcestershire with other areas in the West Midlands,
Wychavon has the second largest ecological footprint behind
Stratford-upon-Avon (5.67gha/capita).
On an international scale, Worcestershire's footprint is greater
than the average for EU member countries (4.7 gha/capita) but
smaller than the footprint of the USA (9.4 gha/capita) and Ireland
(6.4 gha/capita).
Actions
Current actions to reduce resource use by Worcestershire
residence include promotion of home energy efficiency through the
Warmer Worcestershire thermal map project. This project highlights
heat loss from properties and provides advice on how to improve the
buildings energy efficiency through measures such as cavity wall
and loft insulation.
Further Information
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