The State of the Art in Ecological Footprint Theory and Applications FOOTPRINT
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Mediterranean Ecological Footprint Trends Content
MEDITERRANEAN ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT TRENDS CONTENT Global Footprint Network 1 Global Footprint Network EDITOR Foreword Promotes a sustainable economy by Alessandro Galli advancing the Ecological Footprint, Foreword Plan Blue 2 Scott Mattoon a tool that makes sustainability measureable. Introduction 3 AUTHORS Alessandro Galli The Ecological Footprint 8 Funded by: of World Regions David Moore MAVA Foundation Established in 1994, it is a family-led, Nina Brooks Drivers of Mediterranean Ecological Katsunori Iha Footprint and biocapacity changes 10 Swiss-based philanthropic foundation over time whose mission is to engage in strong Gemma Cranston partnerships to conserve biodiversity Mapping consumption, production 13 for future generations. CONTRIBUTORS AND REVIEWER and trade activities for the Mediterranean Region Jean-Pierre Giraud In collaboration with: Steve Goldfi nger Mediterranean Ecological Footprint 17 WWF Mediterranean Martin Halle of nations Its mission is to build a future in which Pati Poblete people live in harmony with nature. Anders Reed Linking ecological assets and 20 The WWF Mediterranean initiative aims economic competitiveness at conserving the natural wealth of the Mathis Wackernagel Toward sustainable development: 22 Mediterranean and reducing human human welfare and planetary limits footprint on nature for the benefi t of all. DESIGN MaddoxDesign.net National Case Studies 24 UNESCO Venice Conclusions 28 Is developing an educational and ADVISORS training platform on the application Deanna Karapetyan Appendix A 32 of the Ecological Footprint in SEE and Hannes Kunz Calculating the Ecological Footprint Mediterranean countries, using in (Institute for Integrated Economic particular the network of MAB Biosphere Research - www.iier.ch) Appendix B 35 Reserves as special demonstration and The carbon-plus approach learning places. -
The Ecological Footprint Emerged As a Response to the Challenge of Sustainable Development, Which Aims at Securing Everybody's Well-Being Within Planetary Constraints
16 Ecological Footprint accounts The Ecological Footprint emerged as a response to the challenge of sustainable development, which aims at securing everybody's well-being within planetary constraints. It sharpens sustainable development efforts by offering a metric for this challenge’s core condition: keeping the human metabolism within the means of what the planet can renew. Therefore, Ecological Footprint accounting seeks to answer one particular question: How much of the biosphere’s (or any region’s) regenerative capacity does any human activity demand? The condition of keeping humanity’s material demands within the amount the planet can renew is a minimum requirement for sustainability. While human demands can exceed what the planet renew s for some time, exceeding it leads inevitably to (unsustainable) depletion of nature’s stocks. Such depletion can only be maintained temporarily. In this chapter we outline the underlying principles that are the foundation of Ecological Footprint accounting. 16 Ecological Footprint accounts Runninghead Right-hand pages: 16 Ecological Footprint accounts Runninghead Left-hand pages: Mathis Wackernagel et al. 16 Ecological Footprint accounts Principles 1 Mathis Wackernagel, Alessandro Galli, Laurel Hanscom, David Lin, Laetitia Mailhes, and Tony Drummond 1. Introduction – addressing all demands on nature, from carbon emissions to food and fibres Through the Paris Climate Agreement, nearly 200 countries agreed to keep global temperature rise to less than 2°C above the pre-industrial level. This goal implies ending fossil fuel use globally well before 2050 ( Anderson, 2015 ; Figueres et al., 2017 ; Rockström et al., 2017 ). The term “net carbon” in the agreement further suggests humanity needs far more than just a transition to clean energy; managing land to support many competing needs also will be crucial. -
Partial Correlation Analysis of Association Between Subjective Well-Being and Ecological Footprint
sustainability Article Partial Correlation Analysis of Association between Subjective Well-Being and Ecological Footprint Jinting Zhang 1, F. Benjamin Zhan 2, Xiu Wu 2,* and Daojun Zhang 3 1 School of Resource and Environmental Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China; [email protected] 2 Department of Geography, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA; [email protected] 3 College of Economics and Management, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +1-512-781-0041 Abstract: A spatial-temporal panel dataset was collected from 101 countries during 2006–2016. Using partial correlation (PC) and ordinary correlation (OR) analyses, this research examines the relation- ship between ecological footprint (EF) and subjective well-being (SWB) to measure environmental impacts on people’s happiness. Gross domestic product (GDP), urbanization rate (UR), literacy rate (LR), youth life expectancy (YLE), wage and salaried workers (WSW), political stability (PS), voice accountability (VA) are regarded as control variables. Total bio-capacity (TBC), ecological crop-land footprints (ECL), ecological grazing-land footprint (EGL), and ecological built-up land footprint (EBL) have significant positive influences on SWB, but ecological fish-land (EFL) has significant negative influences on SWB. Ecological carbon footprint (ECF) is significantly negatively related to SWB in developed countries. An increase in the amount of EF factors is associated with a country’s degree of development. Political social–economic impacts on SWB disguised environmental contribution on SWB, especially CBF impacts on SWB. The use of PC in examining the association between SWB and EF helps bridge a knowledge gap and facilitate a better understanding of happiness. -
Measuring Progress in the Degrowth Transition to a Steady State Economy
ECOLEC-03966; No of Pages 11 Ecological Economics xxx (2011) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ecological Economics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolecon Measuring progress in the degrowth transition to a steady state economy Daniel W. O'Neill ⁎ Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy, 5101 S. 11th Street, Arlington, VA 22204, USA article info abstract Article history: In order to determine whether degrowth is occurring, or how close national economies are to the concept of a Received 27 January 2011 steady state economy, clear indicators are required. Within this paper I analyse four indicator approaches that Received in revised form 16 April 2011 could be used: (1) Gross Domestic Product, (2) the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare, (3) biophysical Accepted 27 May 2011 and social indicators, and (4) a composite indicator. I conclude that separate biophysical and social indicators Available online xxxx represent the best approach, but a unifying conceptual framework is required to choose appropriate indicators and interpret the relationships between them. I propose a framework based on ends and means, Keywords: Indicators and a set of biophysical and social indicators within this framework. The biophysical indicators are derived Degrowth from Herman Daly's definition of a steady state economy, and measure the major stocks and flows in the Steady state economy economy–environment system. The social indicators are based on the stated goals of the degrowth Conceptual framework movement, and measure the functioning of the socio-economic system, and how effectively it delivers well- being. -
Environmental Impact Food Labels Combining Carbon, Nitrogen, and Water Footprints ⇑ Allison M
Food Policy 61 (2016) 213–223 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Food Policy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodpol Environmental impact food labels combining carbon, nitrogen, and water footprints ⇑ Allison M. Leach a,e, , Kyle A. Emery a, Jessica Gephart a, Kyle F. Davis a, Jan Willem Erisman b,c, Adrian Leip d, Michael L. Pace a, Paolo D’Odorico a, Joel Carr a, Laura Cattell Noll a, Elizabeth Castner a, James N. Galloway a a Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, 291 McCormick Road, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA b Louis Bolk Institute, 3972LA Driebergen, The Netherlands c VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands d European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Via E. Fermi, 2749, I-21027 Ispra (VA), Italy e Department of Natural Resources and The Sustainability Institute, University of New Hampshire, 107 Nesmith Hall, 131 Main Street, Durham, NH 03824, USA article info abstract Article history: The environmental impact of the production and consumption of food is seldom depicted to consumers. Received 18 March 2015 The footprint of food products provides a means for consumers to compare environmental impacts across Received in revised form 11 February 2016 and within product groups. In this study we apply carbon, nitrogen, and water footprints in tandem and Accepted 31 March 2016 present food labels that could help inform consumers about the environmental impacts of individual food products. The footprint factors used in this study are specific to the United States, but the concept can be applied elsewhere. We propose three methods of footprint calculations: footprint weight, sustainability Keywords: measures, and % daily value. -
Course Handout for Introduction to Forest Gardening
COURSE HANDOUT FOR INTRODUCTION TO FOREST GARDENING Complied by Jess Clynewood and Rich Wright Held at Coed Hills Rural Art Space 2010 ETHICS AND PRINCIPLES OF PERMACULTURE Care for the Earth v Care for the people v Fair shares PRINCIPLES Make the least change for the greatest effect v Mistakes are tools for learning v The only limits to the yield of a system are imagination and understanding Observation – Protracted and thoughtful observation rather than prolonged and thoughtless action. Observation is a key tool to re-learn. We need to know what is going on already so that we don’t make changes we will later regret. Use and value diversity - Diversity allows us to build a strong web of beneficial connections. Monocultures are incredibly fragile and prone to pests and diseases – diverse systems are far more robust and are intrinsically more resilient. Relative Location and Beneficial Connections – View design components not in isolation but as part of a holistic system. Place elements to maximise their potential to create beneficial connections with other elements. Multi-functional Design – Try and gain as many yields or outputs from each element in your design as possible. Meet every need in multiple ways, as many elements supporting each important function creates stability and resilience. Perennial systems – minimum effort for maximum gain Create no waste - The concept of waste is essentially a reflection of poor design. Every output from one system could become the input to another system. We need to think cyclically rather than in linear systems. Unmet needs = work, unused output = pollution. Stacking – Make use of vertical as well as horizontal space, filling as many niches as possible. -
CUBA's TRANSITION to ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY in Swedish
CUBA’S TRANSITION TO ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY Jan Strömdahl KUWAIT 6 5 DENMARK USA 4 SWEDEN 3 GERMANY JAPAN RUSSIA 2 SOUTH AFRICA BRAZIL 1 CHINA CUBA NIGERIA ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT, NUMBER OF GLOBES/PERSON FOOTPRINT, ECOLOGICAL HAITI INDIA 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9 LOW HDI MEDIUM HDI HIGH HDI VERY HIGH HDI HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX, HDI TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 4 2. CUBA AND SUSTAINABILITY 5 2.1 The Human Development Index 6 2.2 Ecological footprint 8 2.3 Later Living Planet Reports 10 2.4 Conclusions in the Living Planet Reports 12 2.5 Analysis of ecological footprints for selected countries 13 2.6 Global target for sustainability 14 2.7 Measures for protection against climate change 15 2.8 How has Cuba succeeded so far? 16 3. AGRICULTURAL AND OTHER LAND USE 18 3.1 Exploitation and Revolution - a historical background 18 3.2 Present situation 20 3.3 Food security 24 3.4 Organic farming 26 3.5 Organic urban and suburban agriculture 27 3.6 Permaculture 30 3.7 Environmental and health aspects 33 3.8 Outlook 33 4. WATER 36 4.1 Present situation 37 4.2 Water footprints 39 4.3 Fisheries 40 4.4 Water pollution 41 4.5 Water and sewage supply 43 4.6 Closing remarks 44 5 ENERGY 46 5.1 Energy revolution starts 47 5.2 Oil still dominate 50 5.3 Renewable fuels and technologies 50 5.4 Fossil fuels and technologies 54 5.5 The rise and fall of nuclear power 54 5.6 Efficiency and savings 57 5.7 Two forerunners - Granma and Guamá 57 5.8 A second energy revolution 59 5.9 Environmental and health impacts 62 5:10 Social aspects 63 6 TRANSPORTATION 65 6.1 Horses and bikes dominate locally 67 6.2 Railway tradition 71 6.3 Freight most by truck 73 6.3 Decentralization and improved effectiveness 73 6.4 Environmental and health implications 75 6.5 Social aspects 76 6.6 Cuba´s challenges 76 2 7 HOUSING 78 7.1 The housing policy of revolution 79 7.2 Current situation 81 7.3 Building tecchnics and materials 83 7.4 Havana 86 7.5 Housing as social right 86 7.6 What about the future? 87 8. -
Foodscape Knox
Written By: Caroline Conley Advisor: Tom Graves Company Description Market and Industry Analysis Company Structure FoodScape Knox is an edible landscaping Political Economic Social Technological Operations Strategy: - Attention on social -Consumer spending -Increase in health and -Increase in Social 1. Initial Contact service and social enterprise located in justice and income increase 3.8% in 4th fitness initiatives Media Usage 2. Consultation and Design inequality quarter 2017 -Increase in social -E-technology and 3. Installation Knoxville, TN. Our target market is the 4. Follow Up Visit - Decrease in - Following Recession, consciousness vertical farming. health conscious middle upper class of 5. Maintenance (Optional) government consumers have not -Increased interest in -Factory Farming Knox county. For every landscape installed, sustainability efforts ceased to continue in food production and techniques another landscape is implemented in a low - Increase in industry the thrifty habits unification of gardeners and grassroots developed during the via social media income neighborhood within Knoxville. sustainability economic downturn -Celebrities are initiatives growing organic The uniqueness of our service combined with the effort towards community development will act as the primary Key Visuals competitive advantage. In the long run, FoodScape Knox will start offering edible Visuals for Landscape designs utilizing Critical Success Factors: landscaping services to businesses and permaculture methodology. Excellent Design- Landscapes -
Permaculture Cairns Newsletter
Permaculture Cairns Inc. Established July, 2007 Web site: www.permaculturecairns.org.au Permaculture Cairns News Empowering communities with sustainable solutions Care for the Earth, Care for people, Share the excess Care of the Earth, Care of People, Share the excess _________________________________________________________________________________ November Public Info & General Meeting Night th Tuesday 19 6:30pm for 7pm start. Flexible Learning Centre, 90 Clarke Street, Manunda Clarke Street comes off Hoare on the Salvos Corner. There is wheel chair access. If you can spare the time, come early (6.15) to help us set up tables and chairs. Members please bring a plate of food to share for dinner, or make a small donation towards the refreshment costs. OOH! and bring a friend, all welcome but ! Financial Members are free. Un- financial members and non members pay $5 for the info night and dinner SPEAKERS for the month: Steve Bailey from Terrain Natural Resource Management will be our November Guest Speaker. Steve has recently been involved on a broad range of catchment issues with a wide variety of stakeholder groups. Some examples of relevant projects: Prioritisation of cactchment repair programs Strategic targeting of weed control Trials of new erosion control measures in riparian areas Revegetation of degraded sites for habitat connectivity – working with local Landcare groups. Building constructed wetlands as nutrient and sediment sinks on farm lands. Water quality monitoring – in particular looking at pesticide/herbicide runoff. Working with primary producers to help transition a move away from some conventional farming methods and adopting alternative practices where possible. LAST MONTHS’ GUEST SPEAKER Jaide from King Brown Technologies, the makers of King Brown Compost was our guest speaker at the last meeting. -
WITHOUT CHEMISTRY THERE CAN BE NO CIRCULAR ECONOMY the Imperative of a New Perspective on Chemicals and Materials Management
March 3, 2018 WITHOUT CHEMISTRY THERE CAN BE NO CIRCULAR ECONOMY The imperative of a new perspective on chemicals and materials management Elze Van Hamelen, MBA The Natural Step (Germany) [email protected].| Office: +49 89 212 312 140| or contact your local office www.thenaturalstep.org | www.thenaturalstep.de Without Chemistry There Can Be No Circular Economy The imperative of a new perspective on chemicals and materials management 1 The transition to a sustainable society entails manufacturing entail a certain risk. Many materials that tremendous challenges when it comes to materials find in nature can only be formed under high management. The concept of a Circular Economy pressure and high temperatures. In trying to minimize focuses on reclaiming materials, recycling, repair risk, the emphasis is on control and reduce the and reuse. There is an emphasis on managing probability that an effect will occur through various materials in a different way, but there is less management approaches. attention on the intrinsic properties of the materials themselves. Often it is implied that we need to In response to large-scale accidents within the substitute raw materials with renewable, bio- chemical industry, the sector has put a lot of effort into based to John Warner, co-founder of the 12 Principles minimizing risks to health and environment and for Green Chemistry, 65% of all chemical increasing safety precautions. Many of these efforts products need to be replaced by a sustainable took place under the umbrella of the global alternative. And that demands a new perspective. Responsible Care By Elze van Hamelen efforts have led to considerable and impressive improvements in areas such as workplace safety, Biomass is often praised as the cornerstone for circular transport, spills, and emissions. -
Ecologically Unequal Exchange and Ecological Debt
Ecologically unequal exchange and ecological debt Alf Hornborg1 Joan Martinez-Alier Lund University, Sweden Autonomous University of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Abstract This article introduces a Special Section on Ecologically Unequal Exchange (EUE), an underlying source of most of the environmental distribution conflicts in our time. The nine articles discuss theories, methodologies, and empirical case studies pertaining to ecologically unequal exchange, and address its relationship to ecological debt. Key words: Ecologically Unequal Exchange, ecological debt, political ecology Résumé Cet article présente une section spéciale sur échange écologique inégal (EUE en anglais), une source sous-jacente de la plupart des conflits de distribution environnementaux d'aujourd'hui. Les neuf articles discutent des théories, des méthodes et des études de cas empiriques relatives à l'échange écologique inégal, et aborder sa relation avec la dette écologique. Mots clés: l'échange écologique inégal, la dette écologique, l'écologie politique Resumen Este artículo presenta una sección especial sobre el intercambio ecológícamente desigual (EUE en inglés), que es una causa subyacente de la mayoría de los conflictos de distribución ambiental en la actualidad. Los artículos discuten nuevas teorías, métodos y estudios de casos empíricos sobre el intercambio ecológicamente desigual, y discuten su relación con la deuda ecológica. Palabras clave: comercio ecológicamente desigual, deuda ecológica, ecología política The articles in this Special Section of the Journal of Political Ecology are based on papers presented at a workshop on Ecologically unequal exchange and ecological debt organized in Lund, Sweden, March 27-28th, 2014. The workshop was part of the project Environmental Justice Organizations, Liabilities, and Trade (EJOLT), and most of the contributors were EJOLT project participants. -
Is the Natural Step's Theory About Sustainability
Journal of Sustainable Development; Vol. 11, No. 1; 2018 ISSN 1913-9063 E-ISSN 1913-9071 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education Is The Natural Step’s Theory about Sustainability Still Sustainable? A Theoretical Review and Critique Joshua D. Nathan1 1 Organizational Learning, Performance and Change Program, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA Correspondence: Joshua D. Nathan, 8500 E. Jefferson Avenue #6F, Denver, CO, USA Tel: 1-303-358-7864. E-mail: [email protected] Received: December 11, 2017 Accepted: December 19, 2017 Online Published: January 30, 2018 doi:10.5539/jsd.v11n1p125 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/jsd.v11n1p125 Abstract With sustainability initiatives attracting quality employees, many businesses concentrate more on their ecological imprint than on sustaining their human capital. Theories such as Karl-Henrik Robèrt’s The Natural Step (1997, 2000, 2002) prize a balance with the environment above one with people. Yet, an increasingly ageing workforce with increasingly common chronic diseases has led corporations to hemorrhage money—from direct costs because of absenteeism to indirect costs because of decreased productivity. Although eligible in many countries for accommodations, many chronically ill employees choose not to self-disclose, instead, masking their illnesses from employers. Questioning the sustainability of The Natural Step (TNS) from this perspective, this paper also critiques TNS’ evolution as a theoretical construct through the lens offered by the General Method of Theory Building in Applied Disciplines. Keywords: backcasting, chronic illness, framework for strategic sustainable development (FSSD), strategic planning, social sustainability, sustainability principles, system conditions, The Natural Step (TNS), theory building in applied disciplines, workplace wellness 1.