Abstract
Ecological Footprint and biocapacity accounting is approached in this brief from a systems perspective. Natural capital is seen as the foundation for all socioeconomic 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 Footprint, 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 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 scale 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 Footprint 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 systems perspective.
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Thornbush, M.J. (2021). The Ecological Footprint. In: The Ecological Footprint as a Sustainability Metric. SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62666-2_2
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