WIO Joins a global campaign led by Global Footprint
Network to tell the world that, “In less than eight months, humanity has
used up nature’s budget for the entire year.”
In less than eight
months, humanity has used up nature’s budget for the entire year, with carbon
sequestration making up more than half of the demand on nature, according to
data from Global Footprint Network, an international sustainability think tank
with offices in North America, Europe and Asia.
This year Water Initiatives Odisha (WIO), a leading network
that works on water, environment and climate change in India, joins with the
Global Footprint Network to spread the message around Earth Overshoot Day.
Global Footprint Network tracks humanity’s demand on the
planet (Ecological Footprint) against nature’s ability to provide for this
demand (biocapacity). Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s annual
demand on nature exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. Earth
Overshoot Day has moved from early October in 2000 to August 13th this year.
In simple terms, as on 13th August 2015 the
humans of world have spent resources of the Earth by more than 50 per cent the
Earth can renew for this year. At this
rate, we would need one and half Earth to support our current demands.
The costs of this ecological overspending are becoming more
evident by the day, in the form of deforestation, drought, fresh-water
scarcity, soil erosion, biodiversity loss and the buildup of carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere. The latter will significantly amplify the former, if current
climate models are correct. Consequently, government decision-makers who factor
these growing constraints in their policy making will stand a significantly
better chance to set their nation’s long-term economic performance on a
favorable track.
“Humanity’s carbon footprint alone more than doubled since
the early 1970s, which is when the world went into ecological overshoot. It
remains the fastest growing component of the widening gap between the
Ecological Footprint and the planet’s biocapacity,” said Mathis Wackernagel,
president of Global Footprint Network and the co-creator of the Ecological
Footprint resource accounting metric. “The global agreement to phase out fossil
fuels that is being discussed around the world ahead of the Climate Summit in
Paris would significantly help curb the Ecological Footprint’s consistent
growth and eventually shrink the Footprint.”
According to data generated by the Global Footprint Network,
it will take resources of double the size of India to support India at the
current level of consumption. “We can’t
sustain such growth models and consumption patterns anymore. We sincerely want India to take strong
measures to cut its ecological footprints and go for greener growth models,”
says Ranjan Panda, Convenor of Water Initiatives Odisha (WIO).
As the third largest Green House Gas (GHG) emitter of the
world, we are still better than many countries in terms of our lifestyles and
consumption patterns. According to
reports, Japan would need five and half countries of its size to meet
consumption requirements. Similarly,
China and UK would require almost three countries of their respective sizes to
meet their current consumption levels.
“Majority of Indians, especially the rural folks and forest
dwellers, are known for their traditional eco-friendly lifestyles. However, the urban India is growing fast in a
highly GHG emitting lifestyle. India
needs to learn from its villages, preserve forests, conserve water bodies and
Rivers, promote traditional irrigation and ecological agriculture more urgently
than ever before,” urged Panda.
The carbon footprint is inextricably linked to the other
components of the Ecological Footprint — cropland, grazing land, forests and
productive land built over with buildings and roads. All these demands compete
for space. As more is being demanded for food and timber products, fewer
productive areas are available to absorb carbon from fossil fuel. This means
carbon emissions accumulate in the atmosphere rather than being fully absorbed.
Ranjan Panda
Convenor, Water Initiatives Odisha (WIO), India
Mob: +91-9437050103
Email: ranjanpanda@gmail.com
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Water Initiatives Odisha (WIO) is a state level
coalition of civil society organisations, farmers, academia, media and other
concerned, which has been working on water, environment and climate change
issues in the state for more than two and half decades now.
Global Footprint Network is an international think
tank working to drive informed, sustainable policy decisions in a world of
limited resources. Together with its partners, Global Footprint Network
coordinates research, develops methodological standards, and provides
decision-makers with a menu of tools to help the human economy operate within
Earth’s ecological limits.
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Additional Resources:
More on Earth Overshoot Day: www.overshootday.org
Follow on social media: #overshoot
To calculate your own personal Ecological Footprint, and
learn what you can do to reduce it, go to: www.footprintcalculator.org
Free Public Data Package (Ecological Footprint Data on 182
countries):
www.footprintnetwork.org/public2015
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