Kitzes, 2009 – Answers to common questions in Ecological Footprint accounting

The Ecological Footprint measures the amount of biologically productive land and water area required to support the demands of a population or productive activity. Since its creation more than 15 years ago by William Rees and Mathis Wackernagel (Wackernagel, 1991a,b; Rees, 1992; Wackernagel and Rees, 1996), Ecological Footprint accounts have been created for nations (Wackernagel and Rees, 1996; Bicknell et al., 1998; Van Vuuren and Smeets, 2000; Ferng, 2001; Haberl et al., 2001; Lenzen and Murray, 2001; McDonald and Patterson, 2004; von Stokar et al., 2006; WWF, 2006; Moran et al., 2008), cities and regions (Folke et al., 1997; Wackernagel, 1998; Best Foot Forward, 2002; Bagliani et al., 2003; EPA Victoria, 2005; Walsh et al., 2006; Lammers et al., 2008), businesses (Barrett and Scott, 2001; Lenzen et al., 2003), and individuals (Redefining Progress, 2002; EPA Victoria, 2008). Across scales, analysts apply Ecological Footprint accounting methods to understand a population’s or activity’s demand for the planet’s limited capacity to provide a range of ecosystem goods and services.