Title | Ecological footprint - a measure of the sustainability of consumption. |
National Indicator/Target | Reduce overall ecological footprint |
Brief Description | This indicator measures the impact of what we consume in Scotland on the world's environment and natural resources. Ecological footprint analyses show that since the mid 1980s humanity's global impact has outstripped the planet's capacity to sustain it and that Scotland - like other developed nations - is responsible for more than its fair share. It is therefore essential to reduce the impact which our consumption has, both in Scotland and overseas, if we are to ensure prosperity and opportunities for all and a better quality of life for future generations. Specifically the ecological footprint estimates the land and sea area needed to provide all the water, transport, food, materials and energy (including embedded energy) we consume, wherever they come from. It also takes account of the emissions generated from the fossil fuels we burn and determines how much land is needed to absorb our waste. This estimates the 'carrying capacity' of the planet and compares it with human consumption. Ecological footprint is an accounting method that tracks resource and waste flows. The unit of measurement is the 'global hectare'. While 1.8 global hectares per person are available world-wide, Europeans use 4.9 global hectares per person and North Americans use twice that amount. |
Strategic Objective(s) to Which Indicator Relates | The indicator informs progress towards a Greener Scotland by measuring the sustainability of consumption. Reducing Scotland's ecological footprint will involve improving the efficiency of resource use as well as changing public behaviour. Wealthier and Fairer - The indicator informs progress in achieving prosperity in ways which make better use of and reduce the negative impacts which we have on natural resources, which are vital for present and future generations. Using resources more productively will help our businesses become more competitive in a global economy facing the challenges of climate change and scarce resources. |
More Detailed Definitions |
Definitions of Keywords | The ecological footprint is defined as a measure of how much biologically productive land and water an individual, population or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates using prevailing technology and resource management practices. The ecological footprint is usually measured in global hectares. Because trade is global, an individual or country's footprint includes land or sea from all over in the world. |
Evidence Source | The ecological footprint is computed using a vast variety of data including input-output tables, waste statistics, emission statistics, transport statistics, agricultural statistics etc. Figures for 2001 were published in a World Wildlife Fund report in 2006. In 2008 the Scottish Government will commission a further ecological footprint analysis. |
Baseline and Past Trends | The methodology for this indicator is under development and it is not clear that the historic data will be compatible with the new methodology. The latest Input-Output tables that are available are for 2004. It is not known when future input-output tables will be produced, but certainly not in time for the 2008 update. |
Methodology | The method was created by Rees and Wackernagel in the early 1990s and the ecological footprint methodology has matured considerably over the past 20 years. The methodology for calculating the ecological footprint is undergoing further revision by the Global Footprint Network and should be complete in 2008. For further details of the methodology see: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/gfn_sub.php?content=datamethods |
Data Ownership and Quality Assurance | The methodology for computing a country's ecological footprint is under development. Not all the many data sources required to generate the ecological footprint are National Statistics. |
Publication of Data | Historic data has been published on the World Wildlife Fund website. A research contract to update the ecological footprint will be let by the Scottish Government in 2008 with a view to replicating every 3 or 4 years. There is frequently a substantial lag in providing estimates of the ecological footprint, of the order of three or more years. |