In order to extend ecological footprint analysis (EFA) to electronic products, new methods had to be developed which associate the world average bioproductive space per capita and year - the fair Earth share - with an individual product. The problem analysed in this thesis is the need for an environmental assessment tool for electronic products, which uses natural capital accounting. This need arose because so far, electronic products were mainly assessed using life cycle analysis with a focus on toxicity. Since the ecological footprint (EF) is a sustainability indicator, the sustainability discussion and in particular its relevance and implications with regard to the EF is reviewed. The electronic products assessed in this thesis are a personal computer (PC) in an exploratory study, and three mobile phones (two main case studies and one updated case study). To establish the land areas used by the mined materials used in electronic products, a database was developed based on site specific data found in the literature, and on approximations from the density of materials and their overburden. A life cycle energy approach was used to determine the burdens from producing and using a mobile phone. In order to estimate energy requirements for materials for which no data was available, the relationship between abundance and rucksack / overburden values was used in a regression analysis. Direct land use data and results from the energy analysis were used as an inventory for the subsequent EFA. An EF time series was applied to represent a more accurate picture of PC and phone use. This was also necessary since the EF reflects the instantaneous rate (a snapshot) of resource consumption. Key results are that the EF of electronic products are much larger than their actual size and that different electronic products have different EF. Our methodology proved sensitive enough to reveal differences even in small electronic products, given the high benchmark of a fair Earth share, and useful in monitoring space-efficient technology.

In a globalizing world, trade has become essential to supporting the needs and wants of billions of people. Virtually everyone now consumes resource commodities and manufactured products traded all over the world; the ecological footprints of nations are now scattered across the globe. The spatial separation of material production (resource exploitation) from consumption eliminates negative feedbacks from supporting eco-systems. Most consumers remain unaware of the impacts that their trade dependence imposes on distant ecosystems (out of sight out of mind). I take the first steps in developing a conceptual and practical framework for an ‘interregional ecology’ approach to exploring and analyzing sustainability in an increasingly interconnected world. Such an approach accounts for some of the ‘externalities’ of globalization and international trade. It underscores the increasing dependence and impact of almost any country on resources originating from others and recognizes that the sustainability of any specified region may be increasingly linked to the ecological sustainability of distant supporting regions. I empirically describe and quantify some of the interregional material linkages between selected countries. I document the flows of renewable resources into the U.S. and quantify the U.S. external material footprint (EF) on specific countries. I then document the physical inputs involved in production of most agricultural export products from Costa Rica and Canada. Finally, I focus on major export products such as bananas, coffee and beef in Costa Rica and agricultural activities in the Canadian Prairies and document some of the ecological consequences (loss of habitat, soil degradation, water contamination and biodiversity loss) of that production. My research findings show increasing U.S. imports, increasing reliance on external sources and growing external ecological footprints. They also show how production activities mostly for overseas consumption led to changes in ecological structure and function in the studied export countries. This dissertation adds a missing trans-national dimension to the sustainability debate effectively integrating the policy and planning domain for sustainability in one region with that in others. While my research focuses mainly on documenting the nature and magnitude of interregional connections I also consider some of the implications of the interregional approach for sustainability planning. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

This study examined the relationship between energy poverty and environmental quality using panel data of 9 ECOWAS nations for the period of 2000 to 2020. The study adopted cross-sectional Augmented Im, Pesaran, and Shinpanel unit root test and the panel non-linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag techniques as analytical tools with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita as control variables. Results indicate the presence of significant symmetric and asymmetric relationship between energy poverty index and ecological footprint (EF) in the long run and further confirms the existence of the Environmental Kuznet Curve (EKC) Hypothesis only in the long run. The study also reveal that FDI has no significant influence on EF, while GDP leads to a significant increase in pollution via the ecological footprint. The study recommended some macro energy policies for the ECOWAS nations to improve their performance in tackling energy poverty and increasing environmental quality.

A relação entre economia e meio ambiente tem sido cada vez mais explorada, dado que o crescimento econômico pode ter efeitos prejudiciais sobre a natureza, contudo existe a possibilidade de conciliar crescimento com preservação do meio ambiente. A coleta e divulgação de indicadores ambientais permitiram relacioná-los com a renda per capita, o que motivou a investigação de uma hipótese conhecida como Curva Ambiental de Kuznets. O trabalho tem por finalidade estimar, através de dados em painel não estacionário, a relação entre o indicador de pressão ambiental e crescimento de renda per capita e, através da análise de dados em painel estático e dinâmico, a convergência da pegada ecológica entre os países como resultado da evidência direta e indireta, respectivamente, da existência de uma Curva Ambiental de Kuznets. A vantagem da análise está na abrangência da pegada ecológica como indicador ambiental em relação às emissões de poluentes, possuindo um caráter original por não ter sido empreendida anteriormente. Os fundamentos teóricos da análise de convergência estão no Modelo de Solow verde desenvolvido por Brock and Taylor (2010). / The relationship between economy and environment has more and more been explored, and given the potential harm that economic growth might have on nature there is a possibility to conciliate growth and environment preservation. The gathering and publishing of environmental measures allowed to establish their relationship with per capita income in an investigation of the hypothesis known as the Environmental Kuznets Curve. This work estimates the relation of environmental pressure and income per capita and also the convergence of the ecological footprint among countries, as a direct and indirect, respectively, result of the existence of a Environmental Kuznets Curve, by using static, dynamic and non-stationary panel data techniques. The advantage of this analysis is that the ecological footprint is a broader environmental index than pollution indexes. The theoretic foundation of the convergence analysis is the Green Solow model, presented by Brock and Taylor (2010).

Neste trabalho buscou-se conhecer as perspectivas de sustentabilidade socioambiental no contexto do desenvolvimento do turismo na cidade de Mateiros/Tocantins. Para tanto, foi avaliada a aplicabilidade em destino de pequeno porte dos indicadores de sustentabilidade: Índice de Qualidade de Vida (IQV), Indicadores de Sustentabilidade da Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU) e Pegada Ecológica do Turismo. Percebeu-se que houve um incremento no IQV da cidade de Mateiros de 32,82% após o estabelecimento do turismo, com destaque para as famílias que atuam na produção das peças de artesanato de capim dourado. A mudança, de 0,162 para 0,215, indica que apesar de ter havido uma elevação na qualidade de vida das famílias entrevistadas, o IQV permaneceu baixo, isto é, com valores entre zero e 0,499. Tal fato demonstra que a qualidade de vida das famílias não é satisfatória. Quanto à ferramenta da ONU, percebeu-se que não há sistematização de dados suficientes para que esta ferramenta possa ser utilizada pelos órgãos governamentais na captação de recursos e utilização destes para criar novas políticas públicas para a região. Tal fato demonstra uma ineficácia em destinos de pequeno porte que se assemelhem à cidade de Mateiros na forma em que foi utilizado nesse trabalho. Quanto à Pegada Ecológica do Turismo, de acordo com a metodologia proposta, são necessários 2.194,2263 hectares de terras para absorver o CO2 demandado pela atividade turística na região. A categoria com maior impacto foi terras de energia fóssil na subcategoria transporte terrestre. Conclui-se, então, que os indicadores de sustentabilidade Pegada Ecológica do Turismo e Índice de Qualidade de Vida mostraram-se ferramentas eficazes para se avaliar as perspectivas de sustentabilidade de destinos de pequeno porte. / This work aimed to investigate the possibilities for environmental sustainability in the context of tourism development in the community of Mateiros/Tocantins. Therefore, we evaluated the applicability of sustainability indicators in small tourist destination: Quality of Life Index (QLI), Sustainability Indicators of the United Nations and Tourism Ecological Footprint. It was concluded that there was an increase in the Quality of Life Index of Mateiross community of 32.82% after the establishment of tourism, especially for families who work in the production of capim dourado handicrafts. The changes from 0.162 to 0.215 indicates that although there was a rise in the quality of life of the families interviewed, QLI remained low, that is, with values between zero and 0,499. This shows that the families quality of life is not satisfactory. As the UN tool, it was noticed that there is not systematic enough data. So the tool proposed by the UN cant be used by government agencies to create new public policies for the region. This fact demonstrates the ineffectiveness of its use in small destinations that are similar to the city of Mateiros. As for the Ecological Footprint of Tourism, according to the proposed methodology, it is needed 2194.2263 hectares of land to absorb CO2 demanded by tourism in the region. The category with the greatest impact is fossil energy land in sub ground transportation. It was concluded, then, that the Tourism Ecological Footprint and Quality of Life Index were effective sustainability indicators tools to evaluate small destinations.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-19T18:20:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Alexsandra Maura Costa Bernal Martin.pdf: 1295409 bytes, checksum: 477670657eea05b9fd0013060437625e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-09-11 / The 7,4 billion hectares of lands ecologically productive available for human use are decreasing in an abrupt way, since last century and, more intensely, in the last decades, mainly due to the significant increase of the world human population and the consumption produced by that. From this fact, the concept of sustainability began to be part of the scientific economic, social and political world agendas. Indicators and indexes of environmental sustainability were created with the objective of measuring the production and the consumption of the essential natural elements to life, to follow the loss/degradation levels to minimize, to replace or to optimize their use. The Ecological Footprint it is one of those sustainability indexes created in 1996, recognized as analytic and educational, that measures how much of the land and sea areas are necessary to reach the consumption of products and services of a population, of a process or of an individual. The results are compared with the available bioproductive area and expressed in balance terms or ecological deficit. The cities are recognized as playing a decisive part in the development of the civilization as something between 58 and 61% of the world population live in cities. São Luís is included in the dynamic and historical processes that happened in Brazil and in the world, with an average annual growth higher than Brazil´s and the Northeast region in the period of 1991-2000. The major objective of this study is to calculate the Ecological Footprint Index of the municipal district of São Luís in the years 2000 and 2004, evaluating the biophysical sustainability of that urban socio-ecosystem through the analysis of the consumption of fuel, water, electricity, food, wood, emissions of CO2, green house effect gas, and the productive natural areas necessary to sustain and to assimilate the generated solid residues. Moreover, to compare the result obtained with the one of other municipal districts of Brazil where this index was already established, to estimate the municipal contribution to the global environmental changes and to contribute to improve the planning, management and the generation of policies. Additionally, the analysis of CO2 captured by a water body (Bacanga) was made and the index of environmental preservation of the area was calculated. As the result, São Luís showed an ecological deficit, and needs an area about 20 times larger than the available to maintain its activities. The element that more contributed to that result was the fuel consumption and the one that less influenced was the water. Only as the consequence of fuel consumption, about 2.087.179.546 tons of CO2 were emitted to the atmosphere in the years of the study. Therefore, facing the population growth that causes decrease of the areas of environmental protection that provide ecological services of life maintenance, it is necessary that public decision makers and each São Luis citizen, review their consumption habits, look for the use of ecologically correct technologies and the conservation of the ecosystems. / Os 7,4 bilhões de hectares de terras ecologicamente produtivas disponíveis para o uso humano vêm diminuindo de forma abrupta, desde o século passado e, mais intensamente, nas últimas décadas, devido principalmente, ao aumento significativo da população humana mundial e do consumo produzido por esta. Diante dessa constatação, o conceito de sustentabilidade passou a fazer parte das agendas científicas, econômicas, sociais e políticas mundiais, donde indicadores e índices ambientais e de sustentabilidade foram criados com o objetivo de mensurar a produção e o consumo dos elementos naturais essenciais à vida, acompanhar seus níveis de perda/degradação para minimizar, substituir ou otimizar sua utilização. A Pegada Ecológica (WACKERNAGEL & REES, 1996) é um desses índices de sustentabilidade criado em 1996, reconhecido como analítico e educacional, que mede quanto de área de terra e mar são necessários para atender o consumo de produtos e serviços de uma população, de um processo ou de um individuo. Seus resultados são comparados com a área bioprodutiva disponível e expressam-se em termos de saldo ou déficit ecológico. As cidades são reconhecidas como desempenhando papel decisivo no desenvolvimento da civilização, inclusive porque mais da metade da população mundial, algo entre 58 e 61%, vive nelas. São Luís enquadra-se nos processos dinâmicos e históricos ocorridos no Brasil e no mundo, com uma taxa média de crescimento anual maior que a do Brasil e que a do Nordeste para o período de 1991-2000. O objetivo maior deste trabalho é estabelecer o índice de sustentabilidade Pegada Ecológica do município de São Luís nos anos 2000 e 2004, avaliando a sustentabilidade biofísica desse socioecossistema urbano através da análise do consumo de combustíveis, água, eletricidade, alimentos, madeira, da determinação das emissões de CO2, gás de efeito estufa, e das áreas naturais produtivas necessárias para sustentar e para assimilar os resíduos sólidos gerados. Além disso, busca comparar o resultado obtido com os de outros municípios do Brasil onde este índice já foi estabelecido, estimar a contribuição municipal às mudanças ambientais globais e contribuir para melhorar o planejamento, manejo e a geração de políticas. Foram acrescidas, a titulo de maior conhecimento sobre o socioecossistema, a análise do CO2 seqüestrado por um corpo d água (rio Bacanga) e o índice de preservação ambiental da área. Como resultado, São Luís apresenta-se em déficit ecológico, necessitando para manutenção de suas atividades de uma área cerca de 20 vezes maior que a disponível. O elemento que mais contribuiu para esse resultado foi o consumo de combustíveis e o que menos influenciou foi o de água. Foram emitidas, em decorrência apenas do consumo de combustíveis, cerca de 2.087.179,546 toneladas de CO2 para a atmosfera nos anos do estudo. Assim, diante do crescimento populacional, que provoca diminuição das áreas de proteção ambiental que prestam serviços ecológicos de manutenção da vida, faz-se necessário que os gestores públicos e cada cidadão ludovicense, revejam seus hábitos de consumo, primem pela utilização de tecnologias ambientalmente corretas e pela preservação dos ecossistemas.

This study aims to measure the effect of designed environmental education lectures that is based on general environmental problems on primary school students&rsquo / attitudes toward environment. The participants of this study obtained from a governmental school in Y&uuml / z&uuml / nc&uuml / Yil districts of Ankara and consists of 51 (18 fourth grade and 33 fifth grade) students. In the study that is held in 2006-2007 education year students implemented to environmental education lectures for one month. The lectures included the &ldquo / sustainable development&rdquo / and &ldquo / ecological footprint&rdquo / concept, as well as the general environmental problems, their reasons and recycling as solution for reducing environmental problems, and student-centered teaching methods such as discussion, role playing, cooperative learning and questioning were used during the lectures in addition to the traditional teaching method. The data concerning the effect of the lectures was obtained by the environmental attitude questionnaire implemented to the students before and after the treatment as pre-test and post-test. Independent sample t-test and paired sample t-test were conducted for data analysis and the result of the study indicated that environmental education lectures increased the environmental attitudes of the students.

Within the twenty&ndash / first century, nearly three billion people, half of total population of the world, live in cities. It is estimated that in the forthcoming twenty&ndash / five years, two billion more people will settle in urban lands. Essentially most of these devastating changes will occur in developing countries, both in terms of the total global urban population as well as increased percentage of the individual country&rsquo / s population living in urban areas. For many developing countries, the urban population is already large. Further increases in size and rates of growth will no doubt stress already impacted environments and living quality. All cities, however, are not impacting the ecology of the world similarly. On the one hand, developed cities have mostly cope with their environmental problems regarded as traditional / concern has focused to their impacts on ecosystems as well as those larger in scale. Cities in the developing world are more concerned with other issues. However, it is not only the development level of countries but the urban planning and development tendencies of their cities impacting the environment differently should be considered, which comprehensively shows us environmental performance of urban patterns. Environmental performance basically refers to the abilities and capabilities of urban patterns to mitigate their impacts on environment and ecology of the world and to cope with the negative of all. As an indicator of environmental performance of urban patterns, ecological footprints, its reasons and long term effects should be specified as inseparable part of urban development and inevitably ecological footprints of different urban patterns and their effects on climate change should be concerned while taking planning and development decisions for urban areas. The basic purpose of the thesis is to specify the environmental performance of different urban patterns in terms of their ecological footprints through defining the relationship between implications of urban patterns and their contributions to the ecological footprint.

Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA) is a technique that was first developed by Wackernagel as a Ph.D. thesis in 1994, then further developed in combination with Rees and published (Rees & Wackernagel, 1995). EFA is employed in this study to assess the resource utilisation of international tourists visiting New Zealand. Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and the ecological sustainability of tourism is becoming more important term for managing tourism. This is becoming increasingly important with tourism identified as particularly as a significant contributor to carbon emissions. This study uses EFA to assess whether international tourists visiting New Zealand behave in a sustainable manner. Tourists are surveyed and classed into high, mid and low budget tourist types to gain a detailed account of their behaviour with particular reference to food, accommodation, transport, services, activities attractions, goods and waste. The EFA helps to identify areas of a tourist’s trip that have the greatest impact on the environment, thereby identifying ways to improve the sustainability of tourism in New Zealand. It was found that tourists generally consume more whilst on holiday than they do at home and more than New Zealand residents. The results show that international tourists’ behaviour is sustainable and New Zealand has the ecological carrying capacity to allow the number of international tourists to increase without incurring any significant ecological costs to the country. It was found that there is a positive relationship between ‘high’ income tourists and their ecological footprint and that independent travellers have a larger ecological footprint than the package travellers; however, package travellers have a larger food and housing ecological footprint than independent travellers. The energy footprint was the largest out of the six land types of a tourist’s ecological footprint. Food is the consumption category that is the largest contributor to a tourist’s ecological footprint.

This thesis discusses the ecological footprint of the city, its calculation and results.