The application of ecological footprint and biocapacity for environmental carrying capacity assessment

A new approach for European cities

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12666705
AutoresMałgorzata Świąder (0000-0003-3398-4985, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, autor correspondente), David Lin (0000-0002-2248-227X), Szymon Szewrański (0000-0003-4652-7978, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences), Jan K Kazak (0000-0002-1864-9954, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences), Katsunori Iha, J Van Hoof (0000-0001-9704-7128, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences), Ingrid Belčáková (0000-0002-4231-2737, Technická univerzita vo Zvolene), Selen Altiok
Ano2019
Volume105
Páginas56-74
Data de publicação2019-12-24
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoEnvironmental Science & Policy (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1462-9011 • E-ISSN: 1873-6416
EditoraElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.envsci.2019.12.010
OpenAlexW2998048888
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas21
Referências citadas55

Contemporary socio-environmental problems such as the reduced availability of natural resources, the loss of biodiversity, soil degradation, pollution, an unprecedented population growth, the mass migration of people to cities, and urban sprawl may be associated with the consequences of an economic infinite growth paradigm on a finite planet. Despite international goals for improving the spatial and environmental management, current and future developments are continuously planned without the consideration of the biophysical limits to growth. This could be equated with the environmental carrying capacity (ECC), a concept and a tool for the sustainable development of human settlements. This research use the environmental indicators such as Ecological Footprint (EF) and biocapacity (BC) for ECC quantification. Despite EF and BC accounting is well-developed at the global, national and regional levels, there is still lack of local - urban standard for EF assessment. Therefore, the main goal of this study is to present the local approach for EF assessment and its potential to use for ECC assessment at local (i.e., city) level. The study compares the hybrid EF, which joined the bottom-up CF with the remaining EF’s components from a top-down approach, with the standard top-down EF approach. In this study, the assessment focused mainly on household consumption which could be equated as main driver responsible for Ecological Footprint. Thus, the impact of household consumption was quantified according to four categories reflecting resources’ use and waste generation as: Food, Housing, Mobility, Services and Goods. The analysis of ECC was conducted for the Polish city of Wrocław in Central Eastern Europe for the year 2016. The results showed, that the city of Wrocław exceeds its ECC. Both calculations were affected by data limitations, and likely represent overestimation of the EF. The proposed approach could be important for ECC assessment, quantification of the EF of human activities, and more sustainable spatial management of the city

Carrying capacity · Consumption (sociology · Ecological footprint · Economics · Economy · Environmental impact assessment · Environmental planning · Environmental protection · Environmental resource management · Geography · Goods and services · Human settlement · Natural resource · Natural resource economics · Population · Population growth · Sustainability · Sustainable development · Urban planning · Urban sprawl · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Environmental Impact and Sustainability · Environmental Science · Water Resources and Sustainability · Ecology