Findhorn Ecovillage - Ecological Footprint Study

Ecological Footprint Study

An ecological footprint is an attempt to measure the total environmental impact of human activities in a given area. The results measure the amount of land and water that the population requires to provide the resources they utilise and to absorb their wastes. The calculations used converts this into a measure of land area, global hectares (gha). It is widely accepted that the human impact on planet Earth now exceeds the available capacity of natural systems to sustain it, and that western countries typically have a resource usage that ‘would require three planets’ to maintain if every citizen on Earth had a similar impact. In October 2006 preliminary results of the ecological footprint study for the Findhorn Ecovillage undertaken by The Sustainable Development Research Centre of the UHI Millennium Institute in collaboration with the Stockholm Environment Institute confirmed that ecovillages can tread significantly more lightly on the Earth than more conventional communities.

The study found that residents of The Park and the nearby campus of Cluny Hill College have, on average, a footprint of 2.71 hectares per capita, a little over half the UK national average of 5.4 hectares. (By comparison the comparable figure for the United States is 9.5gha, whilst Uzbekistan is rated at the average 'global earthshare' of 1.9gha). Of particular significance are the results relating to food, ‘home and energy' use, and 'consumables and personal possessions' which have 35%, 27% and 44% of the national average respectively. Findhorn residents have an eco-footprint some 13% lower than those at the London eco-housing development, BedZED. The study is also intending to measure the additional impact caused by visitors to the Ecovillage but results are not yet available.