ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT I nt r od uct i on t o E nv i r onme nt a l Sci e nce a nd N a t ur a l Resour ce s

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1 Ecological Footprint ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT I nt r od uct i on t o E nv i r onme nt a l Sci e nce a nd N a t ur a l Resour ce s Sustainability indicator. What is a sustainability indicator? A response to GDP. Resource cycle Throstur Thorsteinsson ThrosturTh@hi.is GDP GDP measures the production of goods and services in the economy. But does it explain the state of society? What is missing? GDP Are there other things of value that matter to us? What about: Distribution of wealth? Healthcare? Education? Unspoiled nature? Natural services? Leisure time? Charity work? Species diversity? Natural resources? Sustainability indicators Ecological footprint Sustainability indicators try to include some of these things. ISEW, MEW, PQLI, HDI, HNA, GPI, The Index of Well-Being, Quality of life, Standard of living... etc. What would we include? EF uses productive land as a measuring stick. How much can earth produce? How much are we using? Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 1

2 EF Background...there is virtue in accurate simplicity. However complete a theory or model purports to be, it cannot include all aspects of reality. (Wackernagel and Rees, 1996) EF is a model which simplifies reality Came out in the early nineties. Has been developed considerably since and is under constant revision. Technologies change, and what you need to measure, and how One of the authors created to develop and promote the ideology. But like all simple things it can get complicated... Background Background Global footprint network calculates the footprints of over 200 countries every year. Their goal is to influence decision makers around the world get them to trust the accounts. Aim to make EF as globally accepted as GDP. Nothing short of a revolution in our economies, societies, energy choices and lifestyles is required (footprintnetwork.org) How can we all live well and live within the means of one planet? (footprintnetwork.org) Background Imagery Great use of imagery. The footprint foot on earth. How many planets are we using? Makes EF better than many (perhaps most) other indicators for everyman. Image sources include: ; ; ; ; Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 2

3 Account components Global hectares EF accounts are twofold; footprint and biocapacity. demand and supply; Six land types; crop-, grazing- and built up land, forests, fisheries and land for carbon sequestration. Many more; swamps for instance not included They estimate that 85% of all usable biomass is generated here. These land types are presented and calculated in global hectares. Global hectares have been normalized so that each one is equally productive as another. 1 Global hectare = total biocapacity of the earth divided by surface of the earth. To do this two conversion factors are used: Equivalence factor Yield factor. Biocapacity Ecosystem services, resources, absorption capabilities of the earth,... Everything the earth can take and still regenerate How to measure it? different lands have different capacities Introduction of Equivalence Factors (EQF) and Yields Factors (YF) Equivalence factors (EQF) Because land types vary greatly in productivity, each type is given weight in accordance. EQF are calculated by Global Footprint Network each year. Landgerð Jöfnunarstuðull (jha/ha) Ræktað land 2.64 Skóglendi 1.33 Beitiland 0.5 Sjór 0.4 Vötn 0.4 Mannvirki 2.64 Equivalence Factors, Yield factors Six assumptions The same land types may vary greatly in productivity between countries (areas). Yield factors show the ratio between national yield and average global yields. 1. Most of consumption and waste can be tracked. 2. Most of this can be measured in terms of biologically productive land needed to produce/assimilate it (all that can t is excluded = underestimate of impact). Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 3

4 Six assumptions Six assumptions 3. By scaling each area by bio-productivity they can be converted into a common unit of average productivity; the global hectare. 4. Global hectares therefore represent the same amount of bio-productivity and can thus be summed. 5. As both human demand on natural productivity, and natures ability to produce, can be expressed in this common unit the two can be compared. 6. The area demanded can exceed the area available. This is called overshoot. 1. Collect the data. Land type sizes. Population. Figures for total consumption/production, import and export. See for details 2. Calculate yield factors: YF L i U i U A W,i A N,i P production Y yield A area i - Product N National W - World A N,i P i Y N A W,i P i Y W Sample Yield Factors for Selected Countries, Landgerð Jöfnunarstuðull (jha/ha) Ræktað land 2.64 Skóglendi 1.33 Beitiland 0.5 Sjór 0.4 Vötn 0.4 Mannvirki Get equivalence factors (EQF) and constants from GFN. 4. Calculate the footprints of production, import and export for all land types with the relevant equations: EF P Y N YF EQF where Y YF Y N W EF P Y W EQF Lot s of details that you can read about Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 4

5 National Footprint Accounts (NFA) accounting framework. University of Iceland - UAU102F 5. Calculate bio-capacity. BC A YF EQF 6. Calculate the footprint of consumption. EF C EF P EF I EF E P production I import E - export 7. Add up the footprints of consumption for all different land types. 8. Compare the footprint to the biocapacity to find out the balance. Limitations of EF Many vital things fall outside the calculations: Water. Biodiversity. GHG s other than CO 2. All pollution/waste other than CO 2. Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 5

6 Limitations of EF The good Calculations are very sensitive. Small errors can wreak havoc. for fisheries looks underdeveloped. Is meant to be a sustainability indicator but economic and social factors are only reflected in consumption patterns. Use of imagery makes it a great tool to get information and education across. The methodology is actively being revised and worked on constantly. Produces a single figure result. The good Limitations of such indicators Is done for over 200 countries every other year or so by GFN. Educational material on how to perform a footprint measurement is relatively easy to access at GFN. Try to simplify a complex world. Rely on masses of data with multitude of uncertainties attached. Examples of footprints Draft report for 2011 Biocapacity 1.8 gha (12 billion ha) in Footprint 2.7 gha (18.2 billion ha) in Need 1.52 Earth s. United Arab Emirates 9.46 United States of America 9.42 Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 6

7 Examples of footprints What about Iceland? Denmark 8.04 UK 5.33 Peru 1.57 Afghanistan 0.48 In 1993 footprint was 7.3. With biocapacity of The sea was not included at this time. Iceland in But wait Footprint per capita 56 gha Biocapacity gha Number of earths if everyone living like Icelander s Remember that global biocapacity is ~1.8 gha Error in the methodology. Species of fish stuck together in a group. Energy production for exports. So we are not that bad after all Iceland adjusted Iceland without fisheries Footprint per capita gha Biocapicity gha Number of earths Footprint per capita Biocapicity 4.86 Number of earths only 6.20 Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 7

8 Dear old Iceland Icelanders are according to this earth s biggest consumers. Iceland s carbon footprint alone is bigger than any other nation s whole footprint ( % of the whole). Mainly due to massive importing of electrical goods, cars and oil. Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 8