CB BureauBiodiversity suffers when the planet’s biocapacity cannot
keep pace with human consumption and waste generation. The ‘ecological
footprint’ tracks this in terms of the area of biologically productive land and
water needed to provide ecological resources and services like food, fibre, and
timber, land on which to build, and land to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2)
released by burning fossil fuels.
The Earth’s biocapacity is the amount of biologically
productive area — cropland, pasture, forest, and fisheries — that is available
to meet humanity’s needs.
Since the late 1980s, we have been in overshoot. The ecological
footprint has exceeded the Earth’s biocapacity by about 25 per cent. Effectively, the Earth’s regenerative capacity can no longer
keep up with demand as people are turning resources into waste faster than
nature can turn waste back into resources.
Humanity is no longer living off nature’s interest, but
drawing down its capital.
This growing pressure on ecosystems is causing habitat
destruction or degradation and permanent loss of productivity, threatening both
biodiversity and human well-being.
NB: Freshwater consumption is not included in the ecological
footprint
For how long can this go on?
A moderate business-as-usual scenario, based on United
Nations projections of slow, steady growth of economies and populations,
suggests that by 2050, humanity’s demand on nature will be twice the
biosphere’s productive capacity.
At this level of ecological deficit, exhaustion of
ecological assets and large-scale ecosystem collapse become increasingly
likely.
What can be done?
Moving towards sustainability depends on significant action
now.
Population size changes slowly, and human-made capital,
homes, cars, roads, factories, or power plants, can last for many decades.
This implies that policy and investment decisions made today
will continue to determine our resource demand throughout much of the 21st
century.
As the Living Planet Index shows, human pressure is already
threatening many of the biosphere’s assets. Even moderate ‘business as usual’
is likely to accelerate these negative impacts. And given the slow response of
many biological systems, there is likely to be a considerable time lag before
ecosystems benefit significantly from people’s positive actions.
We share the Earth with 5-10 million species or more.
By choosing how much of the planet’s biocapacity we
appropriate, we determine how much is left for their use. To maintain biodiversity, it is essential that a part of the
biosphere’s productive capacity is reserved for the survival of other species,
and that this share is split between all biogeographic realms and major biomes.
To manage the transition to sustainability, we need measures
that demonstrate where we have been, where we are today, and how far we still
have to go.
The Living Planet Index and the ‘ecological footprint’ help
to establish baselines, set targets, and monitor achievements and failures.
Such vital information can stimulate the creativity and
innovation required to address humanity’s biggest challenge: how can we live
well while sustaining the planet’s other species and living within the capacity
of one Earth?