Updated static maps for 2003 have been added, I am working on adding
interactive versions and fixing the 2002 map.
Some of the choices made when I created the 2002 cartogram mean that this
version is conceptually odd, and cannot be compared to the 2003 map. These
choices also allowed a minor flaw to be introduced into the map.
The original cartogram is a business-as-usual extrapolation of the 2005
Living Planet Report's 2002 data to the then present (2005) population for
each country. Future versions will not continue this confusing practice,
and will be named for the year of the data and not the year the report was
issued.
Regions for which there was insufficient data available (shown in blue on the
2002 map) were originally scaled by the global hectare/real hectare ratio
(=1.1). Some regions for which footprint data was unavailable were mistakenly
scaled by population en lieu of area. Luckily, most of these locales are very
small/sparsely populated. In the raster (GIF, PNG) versions of the map,
or vector versions at normal magnification, the effect is largely unnoticeable
and most pronounced for: Guyana, Suriname, Oman, the Gaza Strip and the
West Bank. Unpopulated regions e.g; Antarctica; were similarly scaled but
confusingly colored as if they had no deficit. The 2003 map uses blue for any
area without a (significant) population or calculated EF data.
Introduction
The Ecological Footprint (EF) draws upon a long line of theory, and was created
by William Rees and Mathis Wackernagel in the mid 1990s as an indicator of the
sustainability of the human economy. It is a means of gauging humanity's impact
upon the natural environment, a standardized measure of the consumption of
renewable resources (or equivalents). EFs are based on the premise that it is
possible to measure humanity's reliance and impact upon the natural world
through a simple accounting of the resources consumed, and more specifically
the "land" from which they are derived. It's ecological significance comes from
the fact that it then becomes possible to "balance the books", as it were.
Remainder = Biocapacity - Ecological Footprint
Where each term is in global hectares (gha; 1 hectare = approx. 2.5
acres), a form of area normalized for average productivity. A positive
Remainder is a "surplus" or reserve, and negative values are deficits.
If we use per capita values Biocapacity is then the
normalized form of
Population Density-1
Visualization
See details in box at top of page. In particular note that the maps are
labeled for the date of the source data, and not the year footprint
calculations were published; typically three years after the fact.
This thematic map shows two variables; 1) coloration indicates
reserve(green) –
deficit(red)1 of national
biocapacity and 2) area indicates absolute consumption of biocapacity.
Consumption = Appropriated National Biocapacity + Imports - Exports
The area of each country has been distorted to represent its consumption i.e.;
its ecological footprint. Countries which appear larger than normal are
consuming more than their fair earth share2 and smaller countries
are consuming less3.
Features with missing data are shown in blue,
and are scaled as if they were in ecological balance.
fair earth share; global biocapacity per capita, also known as
"personal planetoid", down from 2.1 gha in 2002 to 1.8 gha in 2003.
Note that this does not take into account reserves for biodiversity.
The local "surplus" biocapacity of these nations is typically exported
to support the deficits of other countries.
The maps may take *quite awhile* to load, either seemingly hanging
on "loading layers" or displaying "exception" in the applet instead of the
splash screen. Have patience and it ought to load anyways. I have no idea why
this occurs, but it seems to be related to my using an unreleased beta version
of the MAPresso applet.
Deficit
This is a map of the ecological remainder per capita, by nation.
EF
This is a map of the ecological footprint per capita, by nation.
Density
This is a map of population density in people per hectare, by nation.
You may use or adapt the content I have created below this URI
under the Creative Commons license
above without fee or permission, although I would appreciate being notified of
said use. Contact me if you require other licensing terms.
