Ecological Footprint
With more than 6 billion people living on the planet, there
is an increasing need to understand how much of the planet’s
natural resources we have to share between us. The Ecological
Footprint is one way that enables us to do this.
The Ecological Footprint calculates how much productive land and
sea is needed to provide us with the energy, water and materials we
use in our everyday lives. This is measured in global hectares or
gha.
It can also calculate the emissions generated from the oil,
coal and gas we burn, and it determines how much land is required
to absorb our waste. Footprints can be calculated at all scales;
for a country, town, or region, right down to an individual.
Ashford's Ecological Footprint
- The total Ecological Footprint per person in the UK is 5.4
global hectares (gha/person)
- The available footprint across the planet is 1.8 gha per
person
- The South East has the highest footprint of all English regions
at 6.3 gha/per person
- Ashford specifically has a footprint of 6.25 gha/per
person
This means Ashford currently uses 3 times more natural
resources than the planet can support.
Earlier this year work started on a study to
assess Ashford's Ecological Footprint , Ashford is
currently the only growth area in the country looking into
their environmental impact. The results of the study, which is
being conducted by Stockholm Environment Institute in association
with English Partnerships and the World Wildlife Fund, will be
available in late 2008.
Useful Websites