Hi BIOL 4095,
I selected the following readings for students to check out after my guest lecture on ecological footprint and biocapacity (EF&B) analysis.
1. WWF Living Planet Report from 2018
Found here: https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/all_publications/living_planet_report_2018/
2. The State of Ontario’s Biodiversity Report from 2010
Found here: http://sobr.ca/report/
I chose these reports to understand and demonstrate how EF&B analysis relates to ecology (as I have a science background who is joining the social sciences).
The EF&B concept was conceived by Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees at the University of British Columbia in the 1990s. Their concept asks and answers the question:
“How much human demand is placed upon the planet’s regenerative capacity?”
In other words, how do we determine the amount of natural resources humans have used (ecological footprint) compared to what is available and/or what the Earth can regenerate (biocapacity)?
EF&B analysis can provide an overall account of natural resource use at the global, national, regional, city or individual scale. It is “human-focused” and illustrates our demand for natural resources to run global and national economies.
There are ecological implications associated with these human activities. Thus, the analysis has been used to assess the ecological implications of resource extraction in the two readings I selected for students.
The Living Planet report uses EF&B analysis to indicate an increase in all six components of the world’s ecological footprint of consumption over time. Overall, our increasing demands for energy and resources to consume are drivers that threaten biodiversity and ecosystems.
What are the biggest threats? Habitat loss and degradation due to agriculture and over exploitation of land/oceans.
The second report assessed the status and trends associated with Ontario’s EF&B in 2005. Ontarians are demanding much more from the Earth than it can provide and are consuming more than what’s expected globally per person. Hence, Ontario’s high per capita ecological footprint is putting immense pressure on biodiversity which is most likely driving impacts such as terrestrial and aquatic habitat loss, pollution, etc.
These reports use EF&B analysis to associate human activities with ecological impacts both globally and regionally. Although defined as “grey literature”, the reports were chosen because they are written and published by seemingly credible environmental non-governmental organizations (eNGOs).
Applied Plant Ecology Winter 2020 