Ecological Deficit

The world-average ecological footprint in 2007 was 2.7 global hectares per person. In the same year, the world-average biocapacity was 1.8 global hectares per person. So, the difference between the Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity was 0.9 Global hectares per person. This is known as Ecological Deficit.

This means that ecological deficit occurs when the Footprint of a population exceeds the biocapacity of the area available to that population.

• Most of the countries in the world are ecogologically deficit.

When a country does not have enough ecological resources within its own territory, then there is a local ecological deficit and it is called an ecological debtor country. If the country has enough ecological resources in its territory, it has ecological remainder and it is called an ecological creditor country.

Here, we take example of some countries. First we take example of India.

• As per the 2007 Global Footprint Network publication, India’s Ecological Footprint was 0.91 Global Hectare Per Person. However, the biocapacity was 0.51 Global Hectare Per Person. So India’s Ecological deficit was -0.40 Global Hectare Per Person. So India is a ecological debtor country.
• When we take example of Guyana, its Ecological Footprint was 2.38 Global Hectare Per Person. But its biocapacity was 62.13 Global Hectare Per Person. This country had Ecological deficit of +59.75. This is an example of ecological creditor country. Guyana had the largest biocapacity in the word.
  
• The country with largest Ecological Footprint in 2007 was UAE. Its Ecological Footprint was 10.68 Global Hectare per Person. But the biocapacity was only 0.85 Global Hectare Per person. So, the ecological deficit of UAE was -9.83 Global Hectares per Person, which is highest in the world.
  

The latest Ecological Footprint Atlas was published by Global Footprint Network in October 2010.