Ecological footprints and sustainable development

Abstract

The concept of the ecological footprint is well known amongst ecological economists. It represents the human impact on the Earth in a clear manner. As its originators note, the ecological footprint calculations have reinforced the view that if everyone enjoyed a North American standard of living then globally this would require three earths — although finding two other planets would be difficult (Wackernagel and Rees, 1996). Simply stated, we are living beyond our biophysical means. The ecological footprint is one attempt at developing a biophysically-based ecological economics, which approximates reality better than many economic expansionist models. This paper examines the ecological footprint as one contribution to the overall goal of making human development sustainable for current and future generations living in harmony with the rest of the biosphere. The following section briefly describes the advantages and limitations of the ecological footprint methodology. Section 3 then suggests ways in which some of these limitations can be overcome so as to make a useful contribution to the transformation of societies onto paths of equitable, ecologically sound and economically sensible sustainable development. 2. Advantages and limitations of the ecological footprint concept