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Ecological Footprint and Sustainable Development: A Two-Way Approach

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Affordable and Clean Energy

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

Synonyms

Biocapacity; Carrying capacity; Ecological footprint; Environment; Sustainable development

Definitions

The concept of ecological footprint was first brought by Rees (1992) by using “human carrying capacity” and “natural capital” to understand the ecological perspectives in the global economic change. Later, the methodological and calculation of ecological footprint was developed by Wackernagel and Rees (1996) in their path breaking work “Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth.” Broadly ecological footprint represents the land area which is necessary to sustain the existing levels of resource consumption as well as waste discharge by that given population (Wackernagel and Rees 1997). It is also related to carrying capacity, which means the population can be supported indefinitely in a given habitat without permanently damaging the ecosystem (Wackernagel and Rees 1996; Bicknell et al. 1998).

The ecological footprint is a simple measure of sustainability,...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indian Institute of Management Bodh Gaya, Turi Buzurg, India

    Tamali Chakraborty

  2. Department of Economics, FLAME University, Lavale, Pune, India

    Barun Kumar Thakur

Authors
  1. Tamali Chakraborty
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  2. Barun Kumar Thakur
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tamali Chakraborty .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. European School of Sustainability Science and Research, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Anabela Marisa Azul

  3. Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, The University of Passo Fundo, Passo Fundo, Brazil

    Luciana Brandli

  4. The University of Passo Fundo, Passo Fundo, Brazil

    Amanda Lange Salvia

  5. International Centre for Thriving, University of Chester, Chester, UK

    Tony Wall

Section Editor information

  1. School of Economics, Finance and Banking, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia

    Md. Mahmudul Alam

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Chakraborty, T., Thakur, B.K. (2021). Ecological Footprint and Sustainable Development: A Two-Way Approach. In: Leal Filho, W., Marisa Azul, A., Brandli, L., Lange Salvia, A., Wall, T. (eds) Affordable and Clean Energy. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95864-4_41

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