More detailed information on the ecological (and carbon) footprint

On these pages we would like to provide more information to those, who are interested in the development of the ecological footprint concept, the necessity, the application possibilities and the limitations.

The ecological footprint is basically a resource accounting tool measuring the biologically fertile/ productive area which is necessary for a given population or activity and compares it to the physically available area. The ecological footprint indicates the demand for the nature's renewable "services", e.g. soil, fishing area, wood, fibers, energy and the area necessary for the built environment as well as the area necessary for the assimilation of the waste materials disposed by the given population.

With other terms: the ecological footprint expresses the annual renewing capacity of the biosphere inarea (which can be soil and/ or water surface); what is the size of the nature necessary for recreating the energy demand of a given population - or of an organization - with taking into consideration the used technological level and resource management.