An ecological footprint is a measure of how much biologically productive land and water area a person, population, or activity requires to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates, especially carbon emissions. It quantifies human demand on nature compared to the Earth's capacity to regenerate those resources, known as biocapacity
. Specifically, it accounts for the land needed for:
- Plant-based food and fiber production
- Livestock and fish products
- Timber and other forest products
- Space for infrastructure
- Forest area required to absorb carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels
The ecological footprint is expressed in global hectares (gha), which standardizes different types of land and sea areas based on their biological productivity
. It can be calculated for individuals, cities, regions, countries, companies, or the entire planet
. When a population’s ecological footprint exceeds the biocapacity of its environment, it results in an ecological deficit or overshoot, indicating unsustainable use of natural resources
. Earth Overshoot Day marks the point in the year when humanity’s demand surpasses what the Earth can regenerate in that year
. The concept was developed in the 1990s by William Rees and Mathis Wackernagel to help assess sustainability and guide environmental policy and behavior
. In summary, the ecological footprint is a key sustainability metric showing how much pressure human lifestyles place on the planet’s ecosystems and resources
