Ecological Deficit – MODII

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Icono Medio ambiente Ecological deficit

(Déficit ecológico)

Primer plano de un instrumento para medir las precipitaciones, clavado en la tierra de una zona inundada.

An ecological deficit occurs when a population’s ecological footprint surpasses the biocapacity of the place where they live. This refers to the imbalance created when the level of consumption of common natural assets and the level of waste and pollution generated by a community exceeds the natural sustainable production and its ability to absorb the waste. This indicator is related to the planetary boundaries and with the earth’s biological capacity to regenerate its resources and absorb pollution.Ecological deficit is measured by the amount of productive land necessary to respond to a specific community’s needs and that exceeds the carrying capacity of the area where the community lives.If the ecological footprint is smaller than the biocapacity of the region, it is considered to be self-sufficient. In contrast, if the ecological footprint is greater than the biocapacity of the region, this is known as an ecological deficit. Biocapacity and ecological footprint are both expressed using the same unit: global hectare (gha).

References: Let’s speak sustainable construction, Multilingual Glossary Joint publication of the European Economic and Social Committee, the Architects’ Council of Europe and the European Concrete Platform, 2011 Global Footprint Network Photo credit: Rudmer Zwerver

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