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THE 2004 FOOTPRINT OF
NATIONS: AN OVERVIEW
source:
www.rprogress.org/
publications/2004/footprintnations
2004.pdf#search="footprint nations"
assets.panda.org
/downloads/living_planet
_report.pdf
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The 2004 Footprint of Nations Report concluded that the world's wealthiest nations are mortgaging the future at the expense of today's children, the poor, and the long-term health of the Earth.
Through excessive consumption of non-renewable resources, a handful of countries are depleting global reserves at a faster rate than ever before: - Humanity’s total Ecological Footprint increased to 13.2 billion global hectares, growing by 147 million global hectares between 1999 and 2000.
- For the first time the United States has the world's largest footprint at 9.57 hectares (23.7 acres) per person. A sustainable Footprint would be 1.88 hectares (4.6 acres).
- Developing countries like Bangladesh and Mozambique have footprints of 0.53 hectares (1.3 acres) per capita - just over 1/20th of the US footprint.
- The Asia-Pacific region, home to 3.5 billion or nearly 60% of the global population, can be viewed as the place with the largest Footprint. On the other hand, Africa has a population that is nearly 480 million, larger than the USA, and yet the continent’s total Footprint is 1.6 billion hectares smaller.
- Humanity's combined footprint represents an overuse of the earth's natural resources by 15% (over 20%, according to WWF, see next page*).
*WWF 2004 Living Planet Report.
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