How is sustainable development linked to ecological footprint?

Ecological footprint helps us understand human pressure on the planet. It compares human demand with the planet Earth’s ecological capacity to regenerate it is important to change our lifestyles in order to lead a fulfilling life without degrading the environment.

When starting this assignment I had no clue exactly what my ecological footprint was, I never really paid attention to what and ecological footprint was until this assignment. In order for me to figure out what my ecological footprint is I chose to take two quizzes in order to see if my answers all matched up. After taking both tests my results were all different but all stated that the way I am going about life in our habit is not so eco-friendly as I thought I was and I definitely need to make some changes.

“Many current discussions about sustainability focus on the ways in which human activity...can be maintained in the future without exhausting all of our current resources… there has been a close correlation between the growth of human society and environmental degradation - as communities grow, the environment often declines” (603).

The most commonly used definition of sustainable development is still that given in the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), i.e. sustainable development is ‘a process to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’ Sustainable development is therefore about creating a better life for all people in ways that will be as viable in the future as they are at present. In other words, sustainable development is based on principles of sound husbandry of the world’s resources, and on equity in the way those resources are used and in the way in which the benefits obtained from them are distributed (Making Tourism More Sustainable, 2005).

In order to understand how social classes can affect sustainable development, the term sustainable development must first be defined. The most widely accepted definition was created by the United Nations’ World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987. This commission, also known as the Brundtland Commission, focused on combining two concepts that previously were seen as contradictory ideas: the environment and development. In their report, Our Common Future, they concluded that

Population in different countries in different areas have the environmental impact. The ecological footprint is the inverse of carrying capacity and represents the amount of land needed to support a given population. An example for ecological footprint is, the Dutch need a land area 15 times larger than that of the Netherlands to support their population.

The people of the world cannot live without effecting the environment in some way or another. Scientists use the term ecological footprint to describe the load people impose on nature. An ecological footprint represents the area of the earth’s surface necessary to sustain the level of resources a person uses and the waste they create. Canadians have much larger ecological footprint that is 7.25 hectares per person this is bigger footprint then most people in other countries. Bangladesh on the other hand has one of the smallest ecological footprints in

According to Wackernagel et al. (1999), “the ecological footprint assesses people's use of natural capital by comparing their resource consumption and waste production to the regenerative capacity of the earth” (p. 604). Overall, an ecological footprint analyzes the impact a community or person has on the environment by assessing their use of natural resources and production of waste; this assessment is compared to the regenerative capacity of the earth and expressed as the amount of natural resources (e.g. number of earths) required to sustain specific levels of consumption and waste production.

The link is to a report, titled Ecosystems and Human Well-Being, A Report of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. The report covers ecosystem changes and how that is intertwined with humans and their well-being. The ecosystems of the earth are complex and have many variables. Human actions can have a significant impact on these ecosystems and the report aims to seeks and apply scientific analysis and reasoning to how human actions have and need to change to support these diverse ecosystems focusing on sustainability.

The concept of footprint analysis is that it can change overtime, depending on the number of individuals living in that particular area and by how much they consume in terms of energy, technology, goods and resources. It gave me an idea of how much land water is needed to support my lifestyle, determine my population, geography, climate, food and needs for energy. Moreover, it gives me a few ideas of what I can do to reduce my ecological footprint in each consumption category such as transportation, housing, food and goods.

In general, this report discusses the successes and failures overall, analyzes sustainable development, institutional gaps, and also a call to action. Both Lomborg and The Brundtland Report agree that “...infant mortality is falling; human life expectancy is increasing; the proportion of the world’s adults who can read and write is climbing; the proportion of children starting school is rising; and global food production increases faster than the population grows.” (Brundtland 93) In conjunction with all the positive actions being taken; there are also environmental trends that threaten to radically alter the planet, that threaten the lives of many species upon it, including the human species. There has also been a growing realization in national government and multilateral institutions that it is impossible to separate economic development issues from environmental issues. Nevertheless, “humanity has the capability to make development sustainable to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (Brundtland 95) Furthermore, the goal for sustainable development and the integrated nature of the global environment/development challenges pose problems for institutions. “There is a growing need for effective international cooperation to manage ecological and economic interdependence.” (Brundtland 97) Last but not least, “To achieve the needed changes, we believe that an active follow-up of this report is imperative. It is with this in mind that we call for the UN General Assembly, upon due consideration, to transform this report into a UN Programme on Sustainable Development.” (Brundtland 99) There are many environmental issues occurring to our beautiful planet right now and will

The Ecological Footprint Calculator (Wackernagel, 2005) is a calculator which enables us to calculate the size of an individual’s use of Natural Capital to carry on their lifestyle choices, determining the amount of resources available and consumed, and how much of the Earth’s finite natural resources are used to produce goods and services. The main objective of the Ecological Footprint Calculator is to identify possibilities to understand impacts on the natural environment and create changes to decrease those negative impacts on the environment.

The concept of ‘sustainable development’ is one that has faced heated debates for decades now. A seemingly harmless concept, it raises a lot of questions as to what it really entails and how exactly it can be achieved. But with more than 1.3 billion people living in abject poverty (less than $1.25 a day), and with a reported 22,000 children dying every day as a result of poverty (UNICEF), the debate for Sustainable Development becomes interesting as it questions the extremity of economic growth policies, in the war against poverty. Many note economic growth and development as the only tool for poverty alleviation. Roemer and Gugerty, for example, report that GDP growth of 10% per year is associated with income growth of 10% for the poorest 40% of the population. However, others question the extent to which economic growth should be put above other socio-economic factors. Lele points out that the focus on economic growth has led to important ecological and social sustainability, taking the backseat. He argues that due to strong emphasis on economic growth, not enough attention is paid to social equity, and economic stability within the development discourse.

Sustainability is a topic that has become very important in recent years. Sustainability is defined as, “the ability to continue a defined behavior indefinitely.” ("Finding and Resolving the Root Causes of the Sustainability Problem", 2014)

The concept of sustainable development has become a major topic among intellectuals from various fields. Sustainable development has gone through various changes in its definitions and at present does not have a commonly accepted definition. The origination of the concept of sustainable development is debatable. In 1974 at a conference on Science and Technology for Human Development by the World Council of Churches the concept of a “sustainable society” is believed to have been first noted. This early concept focused on equitable distribution of scarce resources and the need for democratic decision making. In 1980 the currently used term of sustainable development emerged in the