Special Issue "Ecological Footprint Indicator"

Guest Editor
Dr. John Barrett
Stockholm Environment Institute, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK
Website: http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/sei/staff/jbarrett.html
E-Mail:

The Ecological Footprint has emerged as an aggregated indicator of human appropriation of biocapacity. There now exists numerous policy applications from the approach. This special edition will explore both the successful applications of the Ecological Footprint along with a recognition of its limitations to policy assessment. Additionally, alternative approaches to the Ecological Footprint are welcome.
We invite you to contribute to this special issue by submitting comprehensive review or research articles.

• ecological footprint
• ecological overshoot
• sustainable consumption and production
• sustainability accounting
• environmental limits

Type of Paper: Review
Title: A Review of the Ecological Footprint Indicator
Authors: Thomas Wiedmann ¹ and John Barrett ²
Affiliations: ¹ Centre for Sustainability Accounting, Innovation Centre, Innovation Way, York Science Park, York, YO10 5DG, UK; E-Mail: tommy@censa.org.uk; Website: www.censa.org.uk
² Stockholm Environment Institute, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
Abstract: We present a comprehensive review of perceptions and methods around the Ecological Footprint (EF) based on a survey of more than 50 international EF stakeholders and a review of more than 100 original papers on EF methods and applications over the last decade. The key points identified in the survey is that the EF a) is seen as a strong communication tool, b) has a limited role within a policy context, c) is limited in scope, d) should be closer aligned to the UN System of Environmental and Economic Accounting and e) is most useful as part of a basket of indicators. Key issues from the review of methods are: a) none of the major methods identified can address all relevant issues and questions at once, b) basing bioproductivity calculations on Net Primary Production (NPP) is a promising approach, c) environmentally extended input-output analysis (IOA) provides a number of advantages for improving EF calculations and d) further variations such as the emergy-based concept or the inclusion of further pollutants are not regarded as providing a fundamental shift to the usefulness of EF for policy making. We also discuss the implications of our findings for non-governmental organisations, such as WWF, that have used the EF as a headline indicator.
Keywords: ecological footprint; perception; methodology; policy relevance

Type of Paper: Article
Title: Development of Ecological Footprint to an Essential Economic and Political Tool
Author: Hans P. Aubauer
Affiliation: University of Vienna, Faculty of Physics, A-1090 Vienna, Austria; E-Mail: Hans.Peter.Aubauer@Univie.AC.AT
Abstract: It is shown how to develop the concept of the Ecological Footprint further with the following five procedures, in order to be able to label every commodity, service, natural resource and life-style with the share of the limited earth's surface (or number of earth planets), that is claimed by their purchase. This way it is possible to include the natural boundaries into the economy by complete cost internalization into the prices and to combine a sufficiently rapid reduction of resource throughput with a maximal GNP1:
1) Deriving the renewable resource output of the soil and water areas without any input of non renewable resources, in particular of fossil fuels, as it is done within the concept of HANPP (Human Appropriation of Net Primary Production).
2) Considering the spatial dependence of this output, as in HANPP.
3) A convincing procedure to convert non renewable resources into their equivalent of renewable ones and via the area output into the soil and water areas needed.
4) The consideration of every natural use, for instance all material flows.
5) Preserving the living space necessary for the survival of biodiversity, taking care of the species/area relationship.

Title: Fundamental Problems of Sustainable Indicators Reconsidered: The Case of Ecological Footprint Accounting
Authors: Mario Giampietro ¹ and Kozo Mayumi ²
Affiliations: ¹ Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA), Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
² Faculty of Integrated Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokushima, Minami-Josanjima 1-1, Tokushima City 770-8502, Japan; E-Mail: mayumi@ias.tokushima-u.ac.jp
Abstract: to be added

Type of Paper: Article
Title: The Influence of Nutrients and Non-CO₂ Greenhouse Gas Emissions on the Ecological Footprint of Products
Authors: Marlia M. Hanafiah ^1,2, Mark A.J. Huijbregts ¹ and A. Jan Hendriks ¹
Affiliations: ¹ Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands; E-Mails: M.Hanafiah@science.ru.nl (M.M.H.); M.Huijbregts@science.ru.nl (M.A.J.H.); A.J.Hendriks@science.ru.nl (A.J.H.)
² Department of Environmental Science, School of Environmental & Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Science, National University of Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
Abstract: The ecological footprint (EF) commonly neglects the influence of other stressors than land use and CO₂ emissions on the land area required for human activities. This study analyzes the relevancy of including nutrients and non-CO₂ greenhouse gases in the EF assessment of products. The analysis was based on environmental information for 1,927 goods and services. Our findings suggest that within specific product categories, i.e., waste treatment processes, bio-based energy, agricultural products and chemicals, adding non-CO₂ greenhouse gases and nutrient emissions can have a dominant influence on the EF results.
Keywords: ecological footprint; non-CO₂ greenhouse gases; nutrient emissions; products

Title: Burdening the Earth: The Use of the Environmental Footprint in Assessing Humanity's Impact on the Planet
Authors: Gemma R. Cranston and Geoffrey P. Hammond
Affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Design, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK; E-Mails: G.R.Cranston@bath.ac.uk (G.R.C.); ensgph@bath.ac.uk (G.P.H.)
Abstract: Environmental footprints provide an indication of the burdens humanity places on the Earth. They represent a partial measure of the extent to which the planet, its regions, or nations are moving along a sustainable development pathway. Such footprints vary between countries at different stages of economic development and varying geographic characteristics. A correlation equation for national environmental footprints is used, alongside international projections of population growth and gross regional income, to estimate the relative contributions of the peoples of the industrialised North and populous South that would be needed in order to secure climate-stabilising carbon reductions out to about 2100. These are employed as a basis for assessing some of the benefits and weaknesses of the footprint approach.