Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity in the Andean Community

Transcription

1 Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity in the Andean Community

2 INTRODUCTION ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT AND BIOCAPACITY METHODOLOGY The Ecological Footprint is a resource accounting tool that can reveal ecological limits by comparing human demand on the Earth s regenerative capacity with the available supply. It shows us if we are living within our planet s limits by summing the area of cropland, grazing land, forest, and fishing grounds required to produce the food, fiber, and timber humanity consumes, to absorb the waste emitted when it uses energy, and to provide space for infrastructure. The map on the next page shows countries with ecological reserves in blue and ecological deficits in red. Historically, the four Andean countries have had ecological reserves. Since, Ecuador shows a slight deficit. Francisco Caizapanta This report is the result of a joint project between the Community of Andean Nations (CAN) and Global Footprint Network highlighting the Biocapacity Initiative. The Initiative engages with nations to explore the implications of living in an ecologically-constrained future, which may include implementing new domestic policies, incorporating resource management into economic planning, shifting the platform of international negotiations, and collaborating with other nations to cope with the potentially increasing resource demands of our global society. The purpose of the Initiative is to show the interdependence between a country s biocapacity, its economy and ultimately, the well-being of its people. The Initiative aims to identify new mechanisms for maintaining biocapacity as a source of ongoing wealth. It is focused on helping countries meet their human needs while protecting ecological assets. Through collaboration, countries can better secure the value of their natural resources and build incentives for maintaining those assets, a benefit to both their own citizens and to the global economy that relies on these resources. Humanity s Ecological Footprint became larger than global available biocapacity in 987. Since then we have continued to overdraw ecological resources to the point that we consumed percent of the Earth s available biocapacity in. The Ecological Footprint and biocapacity results are calculated in the National Footprint Accounts and available for countries. These Accounts utilize global databases from UN FAOSTAT, UN Comtrade, and the International Energy Agency. Global Footprint Network collaborates with countries to verify these global datasets. Research collaborations are currently underway to collaborate with governments and statistical agencies to improve the source data for the National Footprint Accounts. Ecological Footprint (number of Planet Earths).4. Global biocapacity

3 COUNTRIES WITH ECOLOGICAL RESERVES AND ECOLOGICAL DEFICITS ANDEAN COMMUNITY S ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT In, the most recent year for which data are available, the global Ecological Footprint was 7. billion global hectares, or.7 global hectares per person (a global hectare is a hectare with worldaverage productivity). This demand on the biosphere can be compared to the planet s biocapacity, the amount of biologically productive area cropland, grazing land, forest, fishing grounds, and land for carbon dioxide uptake available to meet human demand. In, the planet s total biocapacity was.6 billion global hectares, or. global hectares per person. Demand therefore exceeded supply by a.6 global hectare deficit per person. This percent overshoot meant that it took the Earth almost 6 months to regenerate the resources humanity used in months. Footprint more than % larger than biocapacity - % larger than biocapacity - % larger than biocapacity - % larger than biocapacity Biocapacity more than % larger than Footprint - % larger than Footprint - % larger than Footprint - % larger than Footprint Insufficient data Ecological Biocapacity Deficit/Remainder Footprint Global 7. billion gha.6 billion gha.9 billion gha Footprint % larger Global Per capita Andean Community Andean Community Per capita.7 gha. gha.6 gha than biocapacity 74. millon gha 46.9 million gha 88.9 million gha Biocapacity 6%.8 gha 4.8 gha. gha larger than Footprint. Andean Community: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru. 4

4 Trends in the CAN Ecological Footprint per person (in global hectares) and type of land Global Footprint Network, National Footprint Accounts, 8 Edition. Bioproductivity in CAN CAN`s countries occupy 8 million hectares, of which 99 million are forest, 4 million are cropland, 9 million are grazing land and million are covered by built infrastructure. In addition, with Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru bordering the Pacific Ocean, the CAN has million hectares of continental shelf which can be utilized for fishing grounds. Andean Community: Breakdown of Bioproductive Area Francisco Caizapanta Trends in the CAN Ecological Footprint and biocapacity per person (in global hectares) 6% forest 4% cropland 9% grazing land % built infrastructure 4% fishing grounds 6 Arturo Bullard

5 From to, the biocapacity available per person in the CAN decreased by 6 percent, or.7 global hectares per person to 4.8 global hectares per person. This was due primarily to the fact that population grew from 6 million to 96 million during that time. The Ecological Footprint per person has been shrinking slightly, going from. global hectares per person to.8 global hectares per person from to. CAN ECUADOR Ecuador s Ecological Footprint per person has increased by 49 percent and its biocapacity per person has decreased by 7 percent from to. By consuming more fishing grounds and emitting more carbon than its ecosystems can absorb, Ecuador has run an ecological deficit since. Ecuador will be the first of the Member Countries to embark upon a research collaboration with Global Footprint Network, through Ecuador s national government planning organization, SENPLADES, to verify and improve the data in their National Footprint Account. COLOMBIA Colombia s Ecological Footprint per person has remained relatively constant from to. However, Colombia s biocapacity available per person has decreased by 6 percent from to. PERU Peru s Ecological Footprint per person has decreased by 8 percent and its biocapacity per person has decreased by 6 percent from to. BOLIVIA Bolivia s grazing land Footprint is the largest contributor to its Ecological Footprint. From to, Bolivia has also seen a 66 percent drop in biocapacity available per person. BOLIVIA Global Footprint Network, National Footprint Accounts, 8 Edition. COLOMBIA Ecological Footprint and biocapacity Global Footprint Network, National Footprint Accounts, 8 Edition.

6 ECUADOR Ecological Footprint and biocapacity Global Footprint Network, National Footprint Accounts, 8 Edition. PERU Global Footprint Network, National Footprint Accounts, 8 Edition. Glossary Ecological Footprint: A measure of how much biologically productive land and water an individual, population or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates using prevailing technology and resource management practices. This demand on the biosphere can be compared to the available biocapacity. The Ecological Footprint is usually measured in global hectares. Because trade is global, an individual or country s Footprint includes land or sea from all over the world. Ecological Footprint is often referred to in short form as Footprint (not footprint). Biological capacity or biocapacity: The capacity of ecosystems to produce useful biological materials and to absorb waste materials generated by humans, using current management schemes and extraction technologies. The biocapacity of an area is calculated by multiplying the actual physical area by the yield factor and the appropriate equivalence factor. Biocapacity is usually expressed in units of global hectares. The Ecological Footprint is a measure of human demand for biocapacity. Global hectare (gha) : A productivity weighted area used to report both the biocapacity of the Earth, and the demand on biocapacity (the Ecological Footprint). The global hectare is normalized to the area-weighted average productivity of biologically productive land and water in a given year. Global hectares allow Ecological Footprint results to be globally comparable. References Ewing B., S. Goldfinger, M. Wackernagel, M. Stechbart, S.M. Rizk, A. Reed and J. Kitzes. The Ecological Footprint Atlas. 8. Oakland: Global Footprint Network. Ewing B., A. Reed, S.M. Rizk, A. Galli, M. Wackernagel, and J. Kitzes. Calculation Methodology for the National Footprint Accounts, 8 Edition. Oakland: Global Footprint Network. Global Footprint Network. National Footprint Accounts, 8 Edition. Available at Kitzes, J., A. Galli, S.M. Rizk, A. Reed and M. Wackernagel. Guidebook to the National Footprint Accounts: 8 Edition. Oakland: Global Footprint Network. 9 Rodrigo Salas