Biocapacity
The biocapacity or biological capacity of an
Biocapacity is used together with ecological footprint as a method of measuring human impact on the environment. Biocapacity and ecological footprint are tools created by the Global Footprint Network, used in sustainability studies around the world.
Biocapacity is expressed in terms of
For example, there were roughly 12.2 billion hectares of biologically productive land and water areas on this planet in 2016. Dividing by the number of people alive in that year, 7.4 billion, gives a biocapacity for the Earth of 1.6 global hectares per person. These 1.6 global hectares includes the areas for wild species that compete with people for space.[3]
Applications of biocapacity
An increase in global population can result in a decrease in biocapacity. This is usually due to the fact that the Earth's resources have to be shared; therefore, there becomes little to supply the increasing demand of the increasing
In addition, if this matter becomes severe, an ecological reserve will be set on areas to preserve their ecosystems. Awareness about our depleting resources include: agricultural land, forest resources and rangeland.[9] Biocapacity used in correlation to ecological footprint can therefore suggest whether a specific population, region, country or part of a world is living in the means of their capital. Accordingly, the study of biocapacity and ecological footprint is known as the Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA).[1]
Biocapacity is also affected by the technology used during the year. With new technologies emerging, it is not clear whether the technology in that year is good or bad but the technology does impact resource supply and demand, which in turn affects biocapacity.[1] Hence what is considered “useful” can change from year to year (e.g. use of corn (maize) stover for cellulosic ethanol production would result in corn stover becoming a useful material, and thus increase the biocapacity of maize cropland).
Moreover, environmentalists have created ecological footprint calculators for a single person(s) to determine whether they are encompassing more than what is available for them in their population.[10] Consequently, biocapacity results will be applied to their ecological footprint to determine how much they may contribute or take away from sustainable development.
In general, biocapacity is the amount of resources available to people at a specific moment in time to a specific population (supply) and to differentiate between ecological footprint – which is the environmental demand of a regional ecosystem.[10] Biocapacity is able to determine the human impacts on Earth. By determining productivity of land (i.e. the resources available for human consumption), biocapacity will be able to predict and perhaps examine the effects on the ecosystems closely based on collected results of human consumption. The biocapacity of an area is calculated by multiplying the actual physical area by the yield factor with the appropriate equivalence factor. Biocapacity is usually expressed in global hectares (gha).[11] Since global hectares is able to convert human consumptions like food and water into a measurement, biocapacity can be applied to determine the carrying capacity of the Earth. Likewise, because an economy is tied to various production factors such as natural resources, biocapacity can also be applied to determine human capital.[12]
See also
- List of countries by ecological footprint
- Global Footprint Network
- Global Hectare
- Human population
- Carrying Capacity
- Ecological reserve
- Sustainable Development
- Ecological Footprint
- World Energy Consumption
References
- ^ a b c "Frequently Asked Questions". Global Footprint Network: Advancing the Science of Sustainability. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
- PMID 23648317.
- ^ "Ecological Wealth of Nations: Earth's Biocapacity as a new framework for International Cooperation". Archived from the original on 2012-05-06. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ a b c d e "What does ecological overshoot mean?". World Wildlife Fund. WWF. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
- ^ a b "Natures regenerative capacity". World Wildlife Fund. WWF. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
- S2CID 153900117.
- ^ "Open Data Platform".
- PMID 24223517.
- ^ Hayden, Anders (December 30, 2013). "ecological footprint (EF)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
- ^ PMID 22033065.
- ^ "Bioresources, Biocapacity of Ecosystems, and related terms". Michel Serres Institute: for resources and public goods. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
- S2CID 246752753. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
Other resources
Videos
- Finding Australia’s biocapacity Dr Mathis Wackernagel explains biocapacity and how it’s calculated.
- Ecological Balance Sheets for 180+ Countries Global Footprint Network
Peer-reviewed Articles
- The importance of resource security for poverty eradication;
- Defying the Footprint Oracle: Implications of Country Resource Trends
Data