Recently, I’ve written a short research paper on the correlation of the ecological footprint (EF) and human development index (HDI), which I found out that the EF generally decreases as HDI increases yet developed countries are the main causes of high EF. As the EF is a great measurement of sustainability, I’d like to introduce its concept and some ways to reduce it. 

The ecological footprint is “the area of land and water required to sustainably provide all resources at the rate at which they are being consumed by a given population”, indicating sustainability of a country or a region. Expressed in global hectare, the EF is specified into six different groups: built-up land, forest, cropland, grazing land, fisheries, and carbon footprint. Currently, humanity is using the equivalent of 1.75 planets to sustain its lifestyle yearly, and the increasing EF has reached a point where the bioproductive area of the Earth is no longer sufficient to satisfy the demands.

Then, what brings about a high EF? The major cause of the EF is carbon emission from fossil fuels, comprising 60% of the world EF. At the same time, carbon is the most rapidly growing factor as shown in figure 1. Considering carbon emission from coal has been in decline, the increase of carbon should be seen as a serious problem. One of its contributors is urbanization. With the 60% increase in 1970, urban population has been rapidly expanding, indicating shifts in their lifestyle towards relatively un-sustainable (it doesn’t necessarily mean it always does but normally), which eventually caused more carbon. This was even intensified as the world population is now reaching 7.9 billion. 

The major causes of the EF are national or global, so it seems like we can’t really help with it. In fact, the tiny efforts we put can change this planet! First, you can use renewable energy. Energy sector is the largest cause of greenhouse gas emission. If you have enough budget and your situation allows, you can install a solar panel or even buy a self-electric generator. Also, you can recycle responsibly. It will reduce waste of landfill, water, resources and contamination of water, air and land. Lastly, you can use public transportations or drive leas. By reducing pollutants from your car, you can conserve the environment and become healthier! I hope this article helped your understanding of the ecological footprint and how we can reduce it.