Biocapacity is the amount of biologically productive land and sea area available to provide the resources a population consumes and to absorb its wastes, given current technology and management practices. It is measured in global hectares (gha), which is a unit of area that is equal to the productivity of one hectare of biologically productive land.
The ecological footprint is the amount of biologically productive land and sea area required to produce the resources a population consumes and to absorb its wastes. It is also measured in global hectares.
The biocapacity-to-footprint ratio is the amount of biocapacity a country has divided by its ecological footprint. A ratio of 1 means that the country is living within its means, while a ratio greater than 1 means that the country is consuming more than its biocapacity.
We should focus on the biocapacity-to-footprint ratio because it is a measure of how sustainable a country's consumption is. A high biocapacity-to-footprint ratio means that the country is living within its means and is less likely to experience environmental problems such as resource depletion and pollution. A low biocapacity-to-footprint ratio means that the country is consuming more than its biocapacity and is more likely to experience environmental problems.
Here are some of the reasons why we should focus on the biocapacity-to-footprint ratio:
It is a measure of sustainability.
It can help us to identify countries that are at risk of environmental problems.
It can help us to track progress towards sustainability.
It can help us to develop policies and practices that will reduce our ecological footprint.
The biocapacity-to-footprint ratio is a valuable tool for understanding our impact on the planet and for taking steps to live more sustainably.