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The Ecological Footprint as a Sustainability MetricThe Ecological Footprint

The Ecological Footprint as a Sustainability Metric: The Ecological Footprint [Ecological FootprintEcological footprint (EF) and biocapacityBiocapacity accounting is approached in this brief from a systemsSystems (theory) perspective. Natural capitalNatural capital is seen as the foundation for all socioeconomicSocioeconomics potential and action. Without nature, we are unable to capitalise on resources that are necessary to provide services and without which humanity would suffer. Using the Ecological FootprintEcological footprint (EF), measured in in global hectares, it has been estimated that roughly 12 billion global hectares exist to support all life on Earth and human activities. If this is treated as Earth’s carrying capacityCarrying capacity, then it sets an upper boundary to resource exploitation. The two main threats to this life support system are human population size and consumption behaviour beyond basic life needs. Lavish lifestyles based on excessive consumption on a mass scaleScale (spatial/temporal) can cause problems of dwindling resources that need safeguarding. In this chapter, the literature that supports this framework is delineated to set the stage for the Ecological FootprintEcological footprint (EF) as a consumption-based composite indicator. The chapter conveys the evolution of this sustainability metric from a theoretical perspective that is grounded in the socioenvironmental as well as ecological economics in order to encapsulate an integrated approach from a systemsSystems (theory) perspective.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

The Ecological Footprint as a Sustainability MetricThe Ecological Footprint

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Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Copyright
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
ISBN
978-3-030-62665-5
Pages
31 –40
DOI
10.1007/978-3-030-62666-2_2
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[Ecological FootprintEcological footprint (EF) and biocapacityBiocapacity accounting is approached in this brief from a systemsSystems (theory) perspective. Natural capitalNatural capital is seen as the foundation for all socioeconomicSocioeconomics potential and action. Without nature, we are unable to capitalise on resources that are necessary to provide services and without which humanity would suffer. Using the Ecological FootprintEcological footprint (EF), measured in in global hectares, it has been estimated that roughly 12 billion global hectares exist to support all life on Earth and human activities. If this is treated as Earth’s carrying capacityCarrying capacity, then it sets an upper boundary to resource exploitation. The two main threats to this life support system are human population size and consumption behaviour beyond basic life needs. Lavish lifestyles based on excessive consumption on a mass scaleScale (spatial/temporal) can cause problems of dwindling resources that need safeguarding. In this chapter, the literature that supports this framework is delineated to set the stage for the Ecological FootprintEcological footprint (EF) as a consumption-based composite indicator. The chapter conveys the evolution of this sustainability metric from a theoretical perspective that is grounded in the socioenvironmental as well as ecological economics in order to encapsulate an integrated approach from a systemsSystems (theory) perspective.]

Published: Jan 28, 2021

Keywords: Natural capital; Ecological economics; Consumption; Systems theory; Ecological overshoot; Sustainability metrics; Composite indicator

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