Waikato Region Ecological Footprint 2004
Report: TR 2006/50
Author: Market Economics
Abstract
This report estimates the ecological footprint of the Waikato region for the year ending March 2004. The ecological footprint measures the total amount of productive land (in hectares) required to support a given population. It is increasingly being used as an indicator of sustainability performance after being developed by Mathias Wackernagel and William Rees in the early 1990s.
An input-output framework based on Bicknell et al. (1998) and extended by McDonald (2000, 2001, 2001a), McDonald and Patterson (2003, 2004), and Patterson and McDonald (2002) is used in this report to calculate Waikato region’s ecological footprint.
Waikato Region Ecological Footprint 2004
(254 kb, 36 seconds to download, 56k modem)
Table of contents
| Executive Summary |
iv |
| 1 |
Introduction |
1 |
| 1.1 |
Scope of the Report |
1 |
| 1.2 |
The Ecological Footprint Concept and its Measurement |
1 |
| 1.2.1 |
What is the Ecological Footprint? |
1 |
| 1.2.2 |
How is the Ecological Footprint Calculated? |
2 |
| 1.2.3 |
Input-Output and Ecological Footprinting |
2 |
| 1.3 |
Key Definitions |
3 |
| 1.3.1 |
Location Quotient |
3 |
| 1.3.2 |
Ecological Footprint Components |
3 |
| 1.4 |
Report Structure |
4 |
| 2 |
Methodology |
5 |
| 2.1 |
Rationale for the Input-Output Framework |
5 |
| 2.2 |
Data Sources |
6 |
| 2.3 |
Methodology for Measuring Ecological Footprints Using Input-Output Framework |
7 |
| 2.3.1 |
Generation of the Waikato Region Input-Output |
8 |
| 2.3.2 |
Estimation of the Land Appropriated from within Waikato Region |
9 |
| 2.3.3 |
Estimation of Land Appropriated from Other Regions |
9 |
| 2.3.4 |
Estimation of Land Appropriated from Abroad |
10 |
| 2.3.5 |
Energy Land |
10 |
| 3 |
Waikato Region's Ecological Footprint |
11 |
| 3.1 |
Profile of the Region |
11 |
| 3.2 |
Overall Ecological Footprint |
11 |
| 3.3 |
Comparisons with Other Countries |
12 |
| 3.4 |
Ecological Footprint Disaggregated by Land Type |
14 |
| 3.5 |
Ecological Footprint Disaggregated by Goods and Services |
16 |
| 3.6 |
Ecological Balance of Trade and Ecological Interdependencies |
17 |
| 3.6.1 |
Exports and Imports by Economic Industry |
18 |
| 3.7 |
Comparison of Waikato Region Ecological Footprints Across Time |
18 |
| 3.8 |
Footprinting of other Resources |
20 |
| 3.9 |
Footprinting, Policy and Resource Reductions |
25 |
| 3.9.1 |
Footprinting as a Policy Tool |
25 |
| 3.9.2 |
Reducing our Footprint |
26 |
| 4 |
Conclusions and Recommendations |
29 |
| 4.1 |
Review of Methodological Framework |
29 |
| 4.1.1 |
Key Strengths of Ecological Footprinting |
29 |
| 4.1.2 |
Key Strengths of Adopting an Input-Output Framework |
29 |
| 4.1.3 |
Key Issues with Ecological Footprinting |
30 |
| 4.2 |
Key Findings |
30 |
| 4.2.1 |
Updating the Ecological Footprint Analysis |
31 |
| 5 |
References |
33 |