Estimating the human appropriation of land in Brazil by means of an Input–Output Economic Model and Ecological Footprint analysis

As we confront the current environmental crisis, determining the biophysical base (e.g., materials, energy, land, and water) of nations has become paramount. With advanced economies benefiting from the import of resource-intensive primary goods originating from poorer parts of the world, especially emerging nations, these are dilapidating their natural capital. Brazil is one of such emerging economies, whose mining and farming activities, propping up its export-led economic growth, exert great pressure on the environment. In particular, farming has been shown to have one of the world's greatest environmental impacts, especially as a consequence of land use associated with cattle ranching. Since a nation-wide evaluation of land-use types across the whole sectorial spectrum of the country's economy is still lacking, we used the most recently available Input–Output Economic Model for Brazil and the Ecological Footprint method to identify those economic sectors with the greatest potential for appropriating portions of the natural world.Our results show that: (i) the biggest chunk of Brazil's Ecological Footprint is due to its Carbon Footprint and, in particular, emissions from cattle; (ii) only a few economic sectors exhibit high Ecological Footprint values, chiefly those belonging to livestock farming and energy production based on fossil fuels; (iii) excluding the soybeans and slaughter sectors, export-oriented sectors have below-average Ecological Footprint values; and (iv) the percentage of Brazil's Ecological Footprint due to household consumption (excluding imports) is three times bigger than that attributable to exports, with sectors belonging to livestock farming contributing the most to such disparity.These results underscore that the environmental impact of the Brazilian economy can be drastically reduced by tackling the emission-intensive production processes of a few sectors only and disincentivizing the domestic consumption of a narrow range of products, especially with respect to the livestock segment.     

Stocks and flows of natural capital: Implications for Ecological Footprint

Over the past decade, Ecological Footprint has become one of the most popular and widespread indicators for sustainability assessment and resource management. However, its popularity has been coupled, especially in recent years, by the emergence of critical views on the indicator’s rationale, methodology and policy usefulness. Most of these criticisms commonly point to the inability of the Ecological Footprint to track the human-induced depletion of natural capital stocks as one of the main shortcomings of the methodology. Fully addressing this issue will require research efforts and, most likely, further methodological refinements. The aim of this paper is therefore to outline the basis of a new area of investigation in Ecological Footprint research, primarily aimed at implementing the distinction between the use of stocks and the use of flows in Ecological Footprint Accounting and debating its implications.     

Ecological Footprint: Refining the carbon Footprint calculation

Within the Ecological Footprint methodology, the carbon Footprint component is defined as the regenerative forest capacity required to sequester the anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions that is not absorbed by oceans. A key parameter of the carbon Footprint is the Average Forest Carbon Sequestration (AFCS), which is calculated from the net carbon sequestration capacity of forests ecosystems.The aim of this paper is to increase the clarity and transparency of the Ecological Footprint by reviewing the rationale and methodology behind the carbon Footprint component, and updating a key factor in its calculation, the AFCS. Multiple calculation options have been set to capture different rates of carbon sequestration depending on the degree of human management of three types of forest considered (primary forests, other naturally regenerated forests and planted forests). Carbon emissions related to forest wildfires and soil as well as harvested wood product have been included for the first time in this update of the AFCS calculation. Overall, a AFCS value range of 0.73 ± 0.37 t C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ has been identified. The resulting carbon Footprint and Ecological Footprint values have then been evaluated based on this value range. Results confirm that human demand for ecosystem services is beyond the biosphere's natural capacity to provide them.     

Methodology for determining the ecological footprint of the construction of residential buildings in Andalusia (Spain)

Construction activity is now a major consumer of natural resources. As a general rule, resource consumption has been evaluated through methodologies related to Life Cycle Analysis. This research is proposed to integrate the Ecological Footprint indicator into the building sector: to observe the difficulties and the benefits it can generate relative to other indicators. To this end, prior knowledge related to the Ecological Footprint indicator must first be adapted to the residential sector, by analyzing the construction of buildings, and secondly a calculation methodology is established in order to quantitatively determine what impacts are generated by industry according to the Ecological Footprint indicator. This methodology applies the indicator to resources used (energy, water, labour, construction materials, etc.) and to waste generated in the construction of residential buildings.The methodology is applied to a case study corresponding to the urbanization and building construction of a representative building type in Andalusia (Spain) when the building is in the planning stage. The final result is 0.384 gha/year/m².     

Ecological Footprint: Informative and evolving – A response to van den Bergh and Grazi (2014)

Ecological Footprint accounting is used to track human demand on the Earth's biological resource flows, and compares that demand with the Earth's capacity to generate these flows. It is an evolving tool which has undergone many improvements alongside advancements in science and in response to critical review. Here we respond to van den Bergh and Grazi's recent points of criticism toward Ecological Footprint accounting. While the authors suggest that new criticism is accumulating, the main issues appear to be the same. We suggest that the majority of the criticism is derived from the misconception that the Ecological Footprint measures land “use,” which cannot exceed land availability. In response to these criticisms, we aim here to summarize and further clarify the major points of debate and confusion and allow readers to determine the relevance of these issues. We conclude that much of the prior discussion and many of the points repeated here reflect a divergence in general philosophical or semantic perspectives.     

The Environmental Impacts of Consumption at a Subnational Level

This article analyzes the environmental effects of resource consumption at a subnational level (by Cardiff, the capital city of Wales), using the Ecological Footprint as a measure of impact assessment. The article begins by providing a short critique of the Footprint methodology and the limitations of methods traditionally used to calculate national Footprint accounts. We then describe the Footprint methodology developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute to overcome some of these problems and used as the basis of the Reducing Wales' Ecological Footprint project, of which the Cardiff study has been a part. The main portion of this article focuses on presenting and discussing the Footprint results for Cardiff. The Ecological Footprint of household consumption in Cardiff will be presented using the international Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP). Based on the results, we found that the areas of consumption that are a priority for Cardiff in terms of reducing resource use are food and drink, passenger transport (car and aviation), domestic fuel consumption, waste, and tourism. We also discuss how these findings have been presented to the Cardiff Council. We report on the initial reactions of policy officers to the Footprint results and how the Council plans to use them to influence policy decisions relating to sustainability. Finally, in the Conclusions section, we briefly explain the value of applying the Ecological Footprint at a subnational level and its value as an evidence-based tool for sustainability decision making.     

Water footprint assessment of sheep farming systems based on farm survey data

Water scarcity is among the main challenges making vulnerable the livestock farming systems in drylands. The water footprint (WF) indicator was proposed as a metric to measure the impacts of livestock production on freshwater resources. Therefore, this study aimed to assess water use in five different Tunisian sheep production systems using the Water Footprint Network methodology. The primary data were obtained from 1050 sheep farms located in 13 Tunisian provinces. A multivariate analysis was performed to characterize the different farming systems. A validation step of the WF modeled values of sheep meat was conducted in 12 sheep farms belonging to two different farming systems. This was done through year-round monitoring of on-farm practices using water metres and recording equipment’s taking into account the direct and indirect water use. The typology analysis came up with five sheep farming systems that are the mixed sheep-cereal (MSC), the agro-sylvo-pastoral (ASP), the agro-pastoral (AP), the extensive agro-pastoral (EAP) and the mixed sheep-olive tree farming systems. The WF of sheep meat produced under the target farming systems ranged from 8654 to 13 056 l/kg live weight. The evaluation of WF of five different sheep production systems figured out that sheep raised under the EAP farming system had the greatest WF per ton of live animal. However, the ASP farming system exhibited the lowest WF. Water used to grow feedstuffs for sheep production accounts for 98% of the total WF of sheep. The green WF accounts for more than 92% of the total WF in all farming systems. Results of monitoring water use at farm scale show that the modeled values of WF are overestimated by an average of 23.3% and 24.1% for the selected farms assigned to the MSC and AP farming systems, respectively. Water use for sheep production is high in most of the Tunisian farms. Therefore, the general assumption that ‘meat production is a driver of water scarcity’ is supported and should be considered as an important focal point in agricultural and water policies. Particular attention should be given to forage crops with low WFs and high contribution to dry matter to provide ration with low WF. The efficient use of green water along the meat value chain is essential to minimize the depletion of blue water resources and to reduce the economic dependency on virtual water through the import of feedstuffs.     

Shrink and share: humanity's present and future Ecological Footprint

Sustainability is the possibility of all people living rewarding lives within the means of nature. Despite ample recognition of the importance of achieving sustainable development, exemplified by the Rio Declaration of 1992 and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, the global economy fails to meet the most fundamental minimum condition for sustainability--that human demand for ecosystem goods and services remains within the biosphere's total capacity. In 2002, humanity operated in a state of overshoot, demanding over 20% more biological capacity than the Earth's ecosystems could regenerate in that year. Using the Ecological Footprint as an accounting tool, we propose and discuss three possible global scenarios for the future of human demand and ecosystem supply. Bringing humanity out of overshoot and onto a potentially sustainable path will require managing the consumption of food, fibre and energy, and maintaining or increasing the productivity of natural and agricultural ecosystems.     

Evaluating environmental sustainability with the Waste Absorption Footprint (WAF): An application in the Taihu Lake Basin,China

The ecological footprint (EF) is an accepted worldwide method for the evaluation of environmental sustainability. However, its utility is limited by the existence of a series of shortcomings in the methodology such as the only-partial inclusion of human generated wastes. To improve the ability of the footprint method to evaluate environmental sustainability, a new footprint-based indicator – the ‘Waste Absorption Footprint’ (WAF) – has been proposed. The purpose of this paper is to test this methodological approach by evaluating the sustainability of the water environment in the Taihu Lake Basin, in densely populated eastern China. Applying the WAF method indicates that anthropogenic discharges of wastes have imposed an absorption pressure on the local water system such that the local water environment is increasingly unsustainable. Furthermore, nitrogen and phosphorus are identified as more critical wastes than organic substances, while domestic discharges are shown to be more important sources compared with those from industry and agriculture, which therefore should be the focus of environmental management and pollution control initiatives. It is demonstrated that the WAF method can provide a wealth of information that can be used for reference by local water environmental management authorities.     

Persistence of policy shocks to Ecological Footprint of the USA

This is the first study that aims to investigate policy shocks to Ecological Footprint of the USA. More precisely, we analyze the stochastic behaviors of the Ecological Footprint and its components (carbon Footprint, cropland, grazing land, forest products, built-up-land, and fishing grounds) by using Fourier unit root tests that are more powerful under an unknown number of breaks. The stationarity of a time series gives information about its future behavior based on past behavior. More specifically, stationarity properties give information on whether shocks have transitory or permanent effects on a variable; therefore, the stationarity of a time series has important implications to the formation of appropriate policies by decision makers. Stochastic properties of the Ecological Footprint are important considerations to the implementation of global and local policies targeting global warming, climate change and environmental degradation. Empirical results show that the Ecological Footprint is non-stationary which suggests that policies affecting the Ecological Footprint will have long-term and permanent effects. Findings and policy implications are further discussed.     

Development of livestock production in the tropics: farm and farmers’ perspectives

Because of an increasing demand for animal-source foods, an increasing desire to reduce poverty and an increasing need to reduce the environmental impact of livestock production, tropical farming systems with livestock must increase their productivity. An important share of the global human and livestock populations are found within smallholder mixed-crop–livestock systems, which should, therefore, contribute significantly towards this increase in livestock production. The present paper argues that increased livestock production in smallholder mixed-crop–livestock systems faces many constraints at the level of the farm and the value chain. The present paper aims to describe and explain the impact of increased production from the farm and farmers’ perspective, in order to understand the constraints for increased livestock production. A framework is presented that links farming systems to livestock value chains. It is concluded that farming systems that pass from subsistence to commercial livestock production will: (1) shift from rural to urban markets; (2) become part of a different value chain (with lower prices, higher demands for product quality and increased competition from peri-urban producers and imports); and (3) have to face changes in within-farm mechanisms and crop–livestock relationships. A model study showed that feed limitation, which is common in tropical farming systems with livestock, implies that maximum herd output is achieved with small herd sizes, leaving low-quality feeds unutilised. Maximal herd output is not achieved at maximal individual animal output. Having more animals than required for optimal production – which is often the case as a larger herd size supports non-production functions of livestock, such as manure production, draught, traction and capital storage – goes at the expense of animal-source food output. Improving low-quality feeds by treatment allows keeping more animals while maintaining the same level of production. Ruminant methane emission per kg of milk produced is mainly determined by the level of milk production per cow. Part of the methane emissions, however, should be attributed to the non-production functions of ruminants. It was concluded that understanding the farm and farmers’ perceptions of increased production helps with the understanding of productivity increase constraints and adds information to that reported in the literature at the level of technology, markets and institutions.     

天山北坡区域生态承载力与可持续发展——以阜康市为例

应用生态足迹法剖析位于天山北坡的新疆阜康市近20多年来承载力变化及对可持续发展的影响,结果表明:20世纪90年代以来市场对煤炭等本地优势资源需求和重新配置加速了本区域快速工业化进程,工业化的结果引导了能源消费迅速增加和城市化发展,生物资源消费快速增加,生态消费足迹逐年显著增加.20多年来,林地人均承载力提高而草地和农耕地人均承载力下降,土地总承载力略有下降.在工业迅速发展、城市化的带动和刺激下,能源和草地消费足迹急剧增加,生态由赢余转为赤字并呈现出赤字快速增加的趋势.草地需求旺盛导致了草地掠夺经营的现状愈演愈烈,生态风险逐渐向草地倾斜,已构成该区域可持续发展的最大障碍因素.天山北坡草地承载和可持续发展与牧业落后生产方式紧密联系,也与人们的认识观念有关,实现草地生态的逆转需要全社会的关注和支持.     

Is a cooperative approach to seaweed farming effectual? An analysis of the seaweed cluster project (SCP), Malaysia

Seaweed (Kappaphycus spp.) farming has been practised in Malaysia since the late 1970s following government policy incentives (training and farming inputs). However, numerous governance, economic, environmental, technological and sociocultural challenges have limited the industry from achieving its full potential. The Seaweed Cluster Project (SCP) was introduced in 2012 to address some of these challenges. We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the SCP in delivering its central objectives of increasing seaweed production, optimising the farming area, improving seaweed quality and farming efficiency, raising farmers’ income, and reducing the environmental impact of seaweed farming. Community and industry perceptions of the SCP were obtained from seven communities using a mixed-methods approach based on face-to-face semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, household surveys, observation and secondary data. Views on the SCP outcomes were generally negative, including low take-up rates by indigenous people, poor stakeholder participation in decision-making, limited acceptance of new technologies, economic vulnerability, a complex marketing system, and low social cohesion of seaweed farming communities. Positive perceptions included recognition that the SCP confers high social status upon a community, reduces operating costs, and facilitates the production of certified seaweed. The SCP’s problems are linked to poor multi-level governance, weak market mechanisms and unintegrated community development. The study concludes with five recommendations to improve the SCP: promote the participation of indigenous people; legalise existing migrant farmers; strengthen local seaweed cooperative organisations; provide entrepreneurship skills to farmers; and fully integrate stakeholders into decision-making.     

Questioning the Ecological Footprint

In this perspective paper a critical discussion about the concept of the Ecological Footprint is documented based on 10 questions which are answered from critical and supporting points-of-view. These key questions are directed toward the underlying research objectives of the approach, a comparison with similar concepts, the quantification methodology and its accuracy, the characteristics of the observed flows, the role of scales and resolutions, the implementation of food security, the utility of the ecological footprint for society, the political relevance of the concept and the differences from other international indicator systems.     

Review: Precision livestock farming: building ‘digital representations’ to bring the animals closer to the farmer

Economic pressures continue to mount on modern-day livestock farmers, forcing them to increase herds sizes in order to be commercially viable. The natural consequence of this is to drive the farmer and the animal further apart. However, closer attention to the animal not only positively impacts animal welfare and health but can also increase the capacity of the farmer to achieve a more sustainable production. State-of-the-art precision livestock farming (PLF) technology is one such means of bringing the animals closer to the farmer in the facing of expanding systems. Contrary to some current opinions, it can offer an alternative philosophy to ‘farming by numbers’. This review addresses the key technology-oriented approaches to monitor animals and demonstrates how image and sound analyses can be used to build ‘digital representations’ of animals by giving an overview of some of the core concepts of PLF tool development and value discovery during PLF implementation. The key to developing such a representation is by measuring important behaviours and events in the livestock buildings. The application of image and sound can realise more advanced applications and has enormous potential in the industry. In the end, the importance lies in the accuracy of the developed PLF applications in the commercial farming system as this will also make the farmer embrace the technological development and ensure progress within the PLF field in favour of the livestock animals and their well-being.     

Prospects from agroecology and industrial ecology for animal production in the 21st century

Agroecology and industrial ecology can be viewed as complementary means for reducing the environmental footprint of animal farming systems: agroecology mainly by stimulating natural processes to reduce inputs, and industrial ecology by closing system loops, thereby reducing demand for raw materials, lowering pollution and saving on waste treatment. Surprisingly, animal farming systems have so far been ignored in most agroecological thinking. On the basis of a study by Altieri, who identified the key ecological processes to be optimized, we propose five principles for the design of sustainable animal production systems: (i) adopting management practices aiming to improve animal health, (ii) decreasing the inputs needed for production, (iii) decreasing pollution by optimizing the metabolic functioning of farming systems, (iv) enhancing diversity within animal production systems to strengthen their resilience and (v) preserving biological diversity in agroecosystems by adapting management practices. We then discuss how these different principles combine to generate environmental, social and economic performance in six animal production systems (ruminants, pigs, rabbits and aquaculture) covering a long gradient of intensification. The two principles concerning economy of inputs and reduction of pollution emerged in nearly all the case studies, a finding that can be explained by the economic and regulatory constraints affecting animal production. Integrated management of animal health was seldom mobilized, as alternatives to chemical drugs have only recently been investigated, and the results are not yet transferable to farming practices. A number of ecological functions and ecosystem services (recycling of nutrients, forage yield, pollination, resistance to weed invasion, etc.) are closely linked to biodiversity, and their persistence depends largely on maintaining biological diversity in agroecosystems. We conclude that the development of such ecology-based alternatives for animal production implies changes in the positions adopted by technicians and extension services, researchers and policymakers. Animal production systems should not only be considered holistically, but also in the diversity of their local and regional conditions. The ability of farmers to make their own decisions on the basis of the close monitoring of system performance is most important to ensure system sustainability.     

Comparative analysis of passenger transport sustainability in European cities

Sustainable development in its three dimensions – economic, social and environmental – has become a major concern on an international scale. The problem is global, but must be solved locally. Most of the world’s population lives in cities that act as centres of economic growth and productivity, but which – if they develop in the wrong direction – can cause social inequalities, or irreversibly harm the environment. Urban transport causes a number of negative impacts that can affect sustainability targets. The objective of this study is to propose an analysis of sustainability of urban passenger transport systems based on available indicators in most cities. This will serve to benchmark the practices of different cities and manage their transport systems. This work involves the creation of composite indicators (CI) to measure the sustainability of urban passenger transport systems. The methodology is applied to 23 European cities. The indicators are based on a benchmarking approach, and the evaluation of each aspect in each case therefore depends on the performance of the whole sample. The CI enabled us to identify which characteristics have the greatest influence on the sustainability of a city’s transport system, and to establish transport policies that could potentially improve its shortcomings. Finally, the cities are clustered according to the values obtained from the CIs, and thus according to the weaknesses and strengths of their transport systems.     

A modeling approach for evaluating capacity flexibilities in uncertain markets

The flexibility of production capacities is a means for coping with the challenges in today’s market environment, especially when dealing with strong fluctuations in customers’ demands. The reliable planning and evaluation of these capacities and their inherent flexibilities are considered an important task for many companies. This paper presents a capacity/cost model that considers the impact of market uncertainties and the corresponding capacity flexibilities. It proposes a demand forecasting method, a modeling approach for capacity-related flexibilities and the analysis of the economical correlation between available and required capacities. Based on this, capacity planning can be optimized using this model. The different steps of applying this modeling approach are illustrated with the aid of an example.     

Farmers’ Perspectives on Vital Soil-related Ecosystem Services in Intensive Swidden Farming Systems in the Peruvian Amazon

A growing dilemma is how to conserve Amazonian forest while allowing local people to secure their livelihoods. Small-scale swidden farming in Amazonia is entirely dependent on the continued provision of ecosystem services (ES) that generate the conditions for agriculture. This study identified soil-related ES needed for, and enhanced by, productive swidden systems from the farmer’s perspective. Workshops in six farming communities in northeastern Peru discussed various land uses, swidden systems that continue to be productive, and swidden systems on degraded land. The participating farmers noted changes in their production systems and described the ES (or lack thereof) in terms of soil quality, crop production quantity and quality, burning practices, forest regeneration, and farming skill. The central elements described in farmers’ own strategies for managing soil-related ES were fallow management for biomass production and crop diversity, factors identified as central to future ES management work in established agricultural areas in Amazonia.     

山东省生态空间占用的初步研究

根据生态空间占用理论与方法,判定了山东省目前的生态空间占用和生态容量,进行了生态空间核算并计算了生态赤字.研究表明,山东省2001年的人均生态空间占用为1.37720hm².人均生态容量为0.58755hm²,生态赤字达0.78965hm²,表明该省对生态生产性土地的需求已严重超出其供给能力,其经济发展过程中的生态状况不容乐观.山东人均生态占用虽明显高于本省人均生态容量,但仍低于全球人均生态容量,属于“地方不可持续-全球可持续”的地区.文末指出重化工业在工业结构中的突出地位及以煤炭为主的能源消费结构是导致该省生态占用偏高的主要原因,另外,人口众多使本省人均生态容量偏小,从而导致生态赤字偏大.为使山东社会经济持续健康发展,优化工业结构和能源消费结构,控制人口数量,建立资源节约型的社会生产和消费体系势在必行.