Suggested criteria governing methods, data sources and reporting for use when Footprint Standards are not appropriate or not yet developed. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. the position north or south of the equator measured from 0 to 90, Obtaining information and deriving satisfaction: 5 different ways of saying get, Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2023. Humanity is faced with many challenges that threaten natural resource availability, stable climate systems, and the conservation of biodiversity. Biocapacity refers to the capacity of ecosystems to produce biological materials and to absorb waste materials generated by human activities. Thus, if we compare ecological footprint and biocapacity values (both in absolute values and per inhabitant), we will be able to know the level of ecological deficit that characterizes the determined territory that is being analyzed, both at national, regional and local scales. Without such a discourse, a lack of public understanding of the subject is deemed to cause poor public support for any potential policies promoting a fair distribution of global biocapacity. Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English, British and American pronunciations with audio. If you want to go deeper into these concepts related to sustainability, in this AgroCorrn article you will find detailed information aboutwhat biocapacity is, as well as more examples of overconsumption in many countries around the world. The number of global hectares required to produce a given quantity of resource or absorb a given quantity of waste, usually expressed as global hectares per tonne. The Ecological Footprint Initiative at York University is producing the National Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts for over 200 countries across the globe, with data derived from 1961 to the present. Starting with data from the National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts, a Consumption Land Use Matrix (CLUM) allocates the six major Footprint land uses (shown in column headings) allocated to the five basic consumption components (row headings). If there is a regional or national ecological deficit, it means that the region is importing biocapacity through trade or liquidating regional ecological assets, or emitting wastes into a global commons such as the atmosphere. Since both of these indicators can be applied to various geographies (globe, region, country, community), this framework can be used to track progress at any scale. They are not related to, and should not be confused with the ecological concepts of primary production, gross primary productivity (GPP) and net primary productivity (NPP). Biocapacity is an estimate of the production of certain biological and renewable resources, and absorbing its spillover wastes that is an estimate of its production of certain biological materials such as natural resources. Footprint analysis considers one key component, life supporting natural capital, or ecological capital for short. See the Ecological Footprint of consumption. Biocapacity measures the biologically productive area of lands and waters that are available to sustain the components of the Ecological Footprint. the ability of a particular area to support human life in terms of the amount of food, fuel, etc. You will help the development of the site, sharing the page with your friends, Air pollution: causes, consequences and solutions, Visual pollution: causes, consequences and solutions. This Footprint reduction must be larger than the Footprint of building and occupying the new house. Biocapacity (Biological capacity) : The capacity of ecosystems to produce useful biological materials and to absorb waste materials generated by humans, using current management schemes and extraction technologies. On the other hand, the ecological footprint is capable of tracking the level of sustainability of a human community over time and comparing it with the sustainability of some and other populations. The resulting accounts are a unique and comprehensive measure of the relationships between humans, economies, and ecosystems, which generates added information based on existing global economic, social, and environmental statistics. Biocapacity - or biological capacity - is the ability ecosystems can provide natural resources and absorb the waste produced by humans. It is abiophysical indicator of sustainabilityin which different impacts of human communities on their environment are considered. Source: GreenFacts Translation (s): Espaol: Biocapacidad The biocapacity of an area is calculated by multiplying the actual physical area by the yield factor and the appropriate equivalence factor. A global hectare is an adjusted unit that represents the average biological productivity of all productive hectares on Earth in a given year (because not all hectares produce the same amount of ecosystem services). Each country and each year has yield factors for cropland, grazing land, forest, and fisheries. [8] Additional stresses of greenhouse gases, climate change, and ocean acidification can also aggravate the problem. For more information, consult www.footprintstandards.org. A factor that accounts for differences between countries in productivity of a given land type. Biocapacity and ecological footprint are tools created by the Global Footprint Network, used in sustainability studies around the world. In the next section we will delve more deeply into this comparison between biocapacity and ecological footprint, with the aim of learning to differentiate both concepts and knowing how to relate them to sustainability. Nowadays, there are more and more studies and sustainability analysis that use biocapacity as the main indicator of the sustainability of a study region. What is Biocapacity? | Glossary | Resource Center - Busch Systems To accurately account for each nations demand on- and supply of- available biocapacity, we use computational hardware and software to process and analyze the most precise and complete statistical data available at the international level. The chemical that kills and hydrogeological, The Principle of Sustainability and its contradiction. Other examples of primary products are potatoes, cereals, cotton, and types of forage. ewmiller@yorku.ca, Research collaborations: In Ecological Footprint accounts, these amounts are converted into biologically productive areas necessary for absorbing this CO2. Thus, if the value of the ecological footprint is greater than that of the biocapacity, the territory presents anecological deficit;while if the biocapacity is equal to or greater than the ecological footprint, the territory would have anecological surplus. Add biocapacity to one of your lists below, or create a new one. Government of Spain (2008). This indicator expresses, on the one hand, the total production area in an ecological way to cover the needs of the resources consumed by an average inhabitant of a certain society, as well as the area that is needed to absorb the waste generated after said consumption, regardless of the location of the surface. With new technologies emerging, it is not clear whether the technology in that year is good or bad but the technology does impact resource supply and demand, which in turn affects biocapacity. Cancer rates and mortality, types and causes, Endocrine disrupting properties of pesticides. As commonly used in regard to the Footprint, it refers to the use of goods or services. Your email address will not be published. The Ecological Footprint is a useful tool to help organizations and institutions address multilayered challenges in a single number, making sustainability campaigns more transparent to stakeholders and partners in the planning process. For example, the Global Footprint Networks Footprint Calculator is an online survey that estimates an individuals footprint as determined by their consumptive choices. Every individual and countrys Ecological Footprint has a corresponding planet equivalent, or the number of Earths it would take to support humanitys Footprint if everyone lived like that individual or residents of a given country. 0 && stateHdr.searchDesk ? In this way, we would achieve that the ecological balances at different scales were positive or, at least, balanced. An ecological deficit occurs when the Footprint of a population exceeds the biocapacity of the area available to that population. What Is Ecological Footprint? Definition and How to Calculate It One of the great virtues of the Ecological Footprint is that it can be represented on a consumption basis, in addition to Footprint on a production basis. Conversely, an ecological reserve exists when the biocapacity of a region exceeds its populations Footprint. biocapacity ( countable and uncountable, plural biocapacities ) The capacity of an ecosystem to provide resources and absorb wastes . The former can be approximated by the Human Development Index (HDI), the latter with Ecological Footprint accounts (Boutaud 2002). Meanings. Glossary: Biocapacity - GreenFacts The amount of regenerated primary product, usually reported in tons per year, that humans are able to extract per area unit of biologically productive land or water. Currently, the carbon Footprint is the largest portion of humanitys Footprint. Thus, forest land has a dual function whereby it provides forest products when harvested and absorbs carbon emissions when left unharvested. These alarming figures have led to the need for sustainable consumption indicators and strategies so that, from national and regional perspectives, we can have an ecological footprint that does not exceed the biocapacity of the different territories. The National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts calculate a primary Footprint Intensity Table for each country, which includes the global hectares of primary land use type needed to produce or absorb a tonne of product (i.e., global hectares of cropland per tonne of wheat, global hectares of forest per tonne carbon dioxide). Biocapacity: Definition, Meaning, Measurement, Usefulness In this way, we would achieve that the ecological balances at different scales were positive or, at least, balanced. It also accommodates theCarbon Footprint, which represents the carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels. We have already defined the term biocapacity in the previous section, now let's talk about the definition of ecological footprint to know how to distinguish both concepts with ease. Did you know that, if all the inhabitants of the Earth consumed like the inhabitants of Australia, we would need 5 planets to cover our needs? The biocapacity or biological capacity of an ecosystem is an estimate of its production of certain biological materials such as natural resources, and its absorption and filtering of other materials such as carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Above all, if you are interested in staying up to date and reflecting on these issues, both on a practical and informative level. The total Ecological Footprint is then equal to the sum of the Footprint components: Cropland Footprint, Grazing Land Footprint, Fishing Grounds Footprint, Forest Products Footprint, Built-up Land Footprint, and Carbon Footprint. The ecological footprint is a method promoted by the Global Footprint Network to measure human demand on natural capital, i.e. The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. sandramc@yorku.ca Footprint intensity is usually measured in gha per tonne of product or waste (CO2). [4] Therefore, it will take one year and eight months for the resources humanity uses in one year to be able to regenerate again, including absorbing all the waste we generate. The accounts are developed through the acquisition and analysis of global statistical datasets from the United Nations, the International Energy Agency, the World Bank and the International Monetary Foundation, among others. The purpose of using Global Hectares is to account for the fact that not all land types have the same level of productivity. Environmental performance, biocapacity, carbon & ecological footprint
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