Topic 14: Biocapacity And Ecological Footprints Flashcards
What is the global footprint network?
It produces information on ecological footprints,bio capacity and related issues
It incudes over 70 organisations: national governments,research organisations and social benefit organisations
What does the WWF publish annually?
Living Planet report
It provides current assessment of changes in the impact of human activities on the planet and its ability to support life
What is bio capacity?
A measure of the biological productivity of an area
Could be a whole planet or a country
What 5 different areas is biocapacity calculated for?
Forests
Marine/inland waters
Cropland
Grazeland
Built up areas
What affects biodiversity?
Natural productivity
Human management methods : it can be increased by good management or reduced by habitat destruction/degradation
what does biocapacity not take into account?
That some land is reserved for other species that could use the same area
Biodiversity buffer
Land that is set aside for other species and wildlife communities
What is an ecological footprint?
The area of earths surface that is needed to provide the resources that are used by the human population and to deal with the waste produced
It can be calculated for an individual, group or activity
What is the ideal ecological footprint?
If the total footprint of the entire human population is less than the area of the planet, it can support the population sustainably, if it is larger then the planet is being over exploited
What is a global hectare?
It refers to a hectare of land with a biocapacity that is average of the whole planet
Biocapacities of different areas vary so widely, an average value is used to compare the biocapacity to ecological footprint
What is earth overshoot day?
Because humans exploit resources faster than they can be replaced, what humans exploit in a year , earth will take longer than a year to replace
Earths overshoot day, marks the day where a years worth of resources have been exploited by
It gets earlier and earlier each year, in 2016 it was august 8th. It was the 2nd august in 2023
What is a carbon footprint?
The part of the ecological footprint that specifically relates to CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions
It can be applied to individuals, an organisation, country or the entire human population
The calculation has to be comprehensive, in that it has to include all direct and indirect carbon dioxide releases
What is the Living Planet Index?
Calculated by the WWF
Measure of the state of the planets ecosystems
Compares over 18000 populations, of 3700 species of vertebrates from terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems
Changes are compared with 1970, which is when it was first studied
