Week 4: Ecological Footprint

Question 1

Deposits

Answer 1

Biocapacity: represents the planets current biologically productive areas, which provide resources and can also absorb much of the waste we generate, especially our carbon emissions

Question 2

Withdrawals:

Answer 2

• Ecological footprint: describes how much land and water area a population requires to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its CO2 emissions, based on current technology (human demand on natural capital)

Question 3

Ecological footprint calculations for a person

Answer 3

unit of measure (currency): global hectare
- Definition: a biologically productive hectare with world average biological productivity for a given year
- Requires a detailed understanding of the amount of biological material produced and CO2 absorbed by the various ecosystems (forests, crops, lands, fisheries etc.)
- Biocapacity: 12.2 billion gha in total (1.7 gha/person)

Question 4

World footprint

Answer 4

• Global overshoot: occurs when humanities demand on nature exceeds the biospheres supply, or regenerative capacity
  ○ Depletion of earths life supporting natural capital
  ○ Living of our “geological savings”
  ○ Buildup of waste

Question 5

Earth overshoot day

Answer 5

The Calander day, on which we used up the ecological resources and services that nature can regenerate in a year

Question 6

Definition: resilience

Answer 6

• Resilience is the capacity of a system to absorb shocks and remain within the current state without losing its integrity
  Self-organized system

Question 7

Planetary boundaries: Nine planetary systems

Answer 7

planetary systems
Three big systems: valley locations
- Climate change
- Stratospheric ozone depletion
- Ocean acidification
○ Evidence of large-scale thresholds
Regulate the capacity of the resilience of the planet: depth of the valley
- Nitrogen and phosphorus cycle
- Land use change
- Rate of biodiversity loss
- Fresh water use
Regulate biomass, carbon sequestration, natures ability to assimilate waste

Question 8

Planetary boundaries- summary
* New paradigm for guiding human development:
What is the safe operating space for humanity to ensure that we stay within the within the stable conditions of the Holocene?
* Three of the ten interlinked planetary boundaries have already been overstepped.
* Adaptive approach that acknowledges non-linear and limited predictability of system and focuses on resilience by investing in: - ability of social and ecological systems to withstand shocks
- ability to rise after crisis (from crisis to innovation)
- ability to adapt to unavoidable change