Ecological Footprint: Managing Our Biocapacity Budget

The only metric that tracks how much nature we have – and how much nature we use

Ecological Footprint accounting, first introduced in the 1990s and continuously developed, continues to be the only metric that compares overall human demand on nature with what our planet can renew ― its biocapacity ― and distils this into one number: how many Earths we use.

Our economy is running a Bernie Madoff-style Ponzi scheme with the planet. We use future resources to run the present, using more than Earth can replenish. Like any such scheme, this works for a limited time, followed by a crash.

Avoiding ecological bankruptcy requires rigorous resource accounting ― a challenging task, but doable with the right tools.

Ecological Footprint provides a complete introduction, covering:

• Footprint and biocapacity accounting
• Data and key findings for nations
• Worldwide examples including businesses, cities, and countries
• Strategies for creating regenerative economies

Whether you’re a student, business leader, future-oriented city planner, economist, or have an abiding interest in humanity’s future, Footprint and biocapacity are key parameters to be reckoned with and Ecological Footprint is your essential guide.

AWARDS

• SILVER | 2020 Eric Zencey Prize
• SILVER | 2019 Nautilus Book Awards: Ecology & Environment
• FINALIST | 2019 Foreword INDIES: Ecology & Environment

Mathis Wackernagel is co-creator of the Ecological Footprint and president of Global Footprint Network. Recipient of numerous awards, he has lectured at more than a hundred universities and is author or contributor to over one hundred peer-reviewed papers, articles, reports, and books including the bestselling Our Ecological Footprint. He lives in Oakland, California.

Bert Beyers is an author and journalist with a passion for exploring humanity’s future and its ecological context. He is a senior editor at one of Germany’s largest radio stations in Hamburg.

Born and raised in Germany, Katharina Rout received her PhD from the University of Münster. After moving to Canada, she became a professor of English literature at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, BC, and a translator of literary and academic prose from German to English.