Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018
Ecological Footprint accounting quantifies the supply and demand of Earth’s biocapacity. The National Footprint Accounts (NFA) are the most widely used Ecological Footprint (EF) dataset, and provide results for most countries and the world from 1961 to 2014, based primarily on publicly ava...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2018-09-01
|
| Series: | Resources |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/7/3/58 |
| _version_ | 1811299731946602496 |
|---|---|
| author | David Lin Laurel Hanscom Adeline Murthy Alessandro Galli Mikel Evans Evan Neill Maria Serena Mancini Jon Martindill Fatime-Zahra Medouar Shiyu Huang Mathis Wackernagel |
| author_facet | David Lin Laurel Hanscom Adeline Murthy Alessandro Galli Mikel Evans Evan Neill Maria Serena Mancini Jon Martindill Fatime-Zahra Medouar Shiyu Huang Mathis Wackernagel |
| author_sort | David Lin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ecological Footprint accounting quantifies the supply and demand of Earth’s biocapacity. The National Footprint Accounts (NFA) are the most widely used Ecological Footprint (EF) dataset, and provide results for most countries and the world from 1961 to 2014, based primarily on publicly available UN datasets. Here, we review the evolution of the NFA, describe and quantify the effects of improvements that have been implemented into the accounts since the 2012 edition, and review the latest global trends. Comparing results over six editions of NFAs, we find that time-series trends in world results remain stable, and that the world Ecological Footprint for the latest common year (2008) has increased six percent after four major accounting improvements and more than thirty minor improvements. The latest results from the NFA 2018 Edition for the year 2014 indicate that humanity’s Ecological Footprint is 1.7 Earths, and that global ecological overshoot continues to grow. While improved management practices and increased agricultural yields have assisted in a steady increase of Earth’s biocapacity since 1961, humanity’s Ecological Footprint continues to increase at a faster pace than global biocapacity, particularly in Asia, where the total and per capita Ecological Footprint are increasing faster than all other regions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T06:40:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4f38f41f49aa4c2aad09121430f4dcf0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-9276 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T06:40:04Z |
| publishDate | 2018-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Resources |
| spelling | doaj.art-4f38f41f49aa4c2aad09121430f4dcf02022-12-22T02:57:45ZengMDPI AGResources2079-92762018-09-01735810.3390/resources7030058resources7030058Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018David Lin0Laurel Hanscom1Adeline Murthy2Alessandro Galli3Mikel Evans4Evan Neill5Maria Serena Mancini6Jon Martindill7Fatime-Zahra Medouar8Shiyu Huang9Mathis Wackernagel10Global Footprint Network, 426 17th Street, Suite 700, Oakland, CA 94612, USAGlobal Footprint Network, 426 17th Street, Suite 700, Oakland, CA 94612, USAGlobal Footprint Network, 426 17th Street, Suite 700, Oakland, CA 94612, USAGlobal Footprint Network, 18 Avenue Louis-Casai, 1219 Geneva, SwitzerlandGlobal Footprint Network, 426 17th Street, Suite 700, Oakland, CA 94612, USAGlobal Footprint Network, 426 17th Street, Suite 700, Oakland, CA 94612, USAGlobal Footprint Network, 18 Avenue Louis-Casai, 1219 Geneva, SwitzerlandUC Davis Center for Water-Energy Efficiency, University of California, Davis, 215 Sage St., Suite #200, Davis, CA 95616, USAInstitut National des Sciences Appliquées de Rouen, 685 Avenue de l’Université, 76800 Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, FranceSchool of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, 420 West 118th Street, New York, NY 10027, USAGlobal Footprint Network, 426 17th Street, Suite 700, Oakland, CA 94612, USAEcological Footprint accounting quantifies the supply and demand of Earth’s biocapacity. The National Footprint Accounts (NFA) are the most widely used Ecological Footprint (EF) dataset, and provide results for most countries and the world from 1961 to 2014, based primarily on publicly available UN datasets. Here, we review the evolution of the NFA, describe and quantify the effects of improvements that have been implemented into the accounts since the 2012 edition, and review the latest global trends. Comparing results over six editions of NFAs, we find that time-series trends in world results remain stable, and that the world Ecological Footprint for the latest common year (2008) has increased six percent after four major accounting improvements and more than thirty minor improvements. The latest results from the NFA 2018 Edition for the year 2014 indicate that humanity’s Ecological Footprint is 1.7 Earths, and that global ecological overshoot continues to grow. While improved management practices and increased agricultural yields have assisted in a steady increase of Earth’s biocapacity since 1961, humanity’s Ecological Footprint continues to increase at a faster pace than global biocapacity, particularly in Asia, where the total and per capita Ecological Footprint are increasing faster than all other regions.http://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/7/3/58Ecological FootprintEcological Footprint accountingNational Footprint Accountsbiocapacitysustainability |
| spellingShingle | David Lin Laurel Hanscom Adeline Murthy Alessandro Galli Mikel Evans Evan Neill Maria Serena Mancini Jon Martindill Fatime-Zahra Medouar Shiyu Huang Mathis Wackernagel Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018 Resources Ecological Footprint Ecological Footprint accounting National Footprint Accounts biocapacity sustainability |
| title | Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018 |
| title_full | Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018 |
| title_fullStr | Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018 |
| title_short | Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018 |
| title_sort | ecological footprint accounting for countries updates and results of the national footprint accounts 2012 2018 |
| topic | Ecological Footprint Ecological Footprint accounting National Footprint Accounts biocapacity sustainability |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/7/3/58 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davidlin ecologicalfootprintaccountingforcountriesupdatesandresultsofthenationalfootprintaccounts20122018 AT laurelhanscom ecologicalfootprintaccountingforcountriesupdatesandresultsofthenationalfootprintaccounts20122018 AT adelinemurthy ecologicalfootprintaccountingforcountriesupdatesandresultsofthenationalfootprintaccounts20122018 AT alessandrogalli ecologicalfootprintaccountingforcountriesupdatesandresultsofthenationalfootprintaccounts20122018 AT mikelevans ecologicalfootprintaccountingforcountriesupdatesandresultsofthenationalfootprintaccounts20122018 AT evanneill ecologicalfootprintaccountingforcountriesupdatesandresultsofthenationalfootprintaccounts20122018 AT mariaserenamancini ecologicalfootprintaccountingforcountriesupdatesandresultsofthenationalfootprintaccounts20122018 AT jonmartindill ecologicalfootprintaccountingforcountriesupdatesandresultsofthenationalfootprintaccounts20122018 AT fatimezahramedouar ecologicalfootprintaccountingforcountriesupdatesandresultsofthenationalfootprintaccounts20122018 AT shiyuhuang ecologicalfootprintaccountingforcountriesupdatesandresultsofthenationalfootprintaccounts20122018 AT mathiswackernagel ecologicalfootprintaccountingforcountriesupdatesandresultsofthenationalfootprintaccounts20122018 |