South West
In April 2005, the South West published it’s first Ecological Footprint report, Stepping Forward, which concluded that in 2001 the region’s ecological footprint was 27.4 million global hectares (GHA) or 5.56 gha per person– this means that if everyone on the planet consumed resources and energy like an average South West resident we would need three planets to support global resource consumption. This is in contrast to the sustainable ‘earthshare’ of 1.9 gha and would mean that South West residents would be required to reduce their current footprint by 66% if they wished to live within the planet’s environmental limits.
This challenge is increasingly being integrated into the region’s policy framework, with draft versions of both the Regional Spatial Strategy and revised Regional Economic Strategy recognising the importance of reducing the region’s ecological footprint and living within environmental limits and the Integrated Regional Strategy making a clear commitment to tackle unsustainable consumption and production patterns.
WWF’s work in the region includes:
1) Ecological Budget UK – This will provide the definitive Mass Balance and Ecological Footprint baseline assessment, updating the work currently available from the Stepping Forward study, as well as providing data at a district level.
2) Sustainable Consumption & Production Network (SCPnet) – WWF is working with other key partners in this inititiative, including the Environment Agency, SW Regional Assembly, SW Regional Development Agency and Government Office for the South West, to develop a regional work programme and to facilitsate the roll-out of the REAP and REEIO software models.
3) WWF is lobbying the SW Regional Assembly and SW Regional Development Agency to adopt Ecological Footprint as a headline indicator and to set a target to reduce the region’s footprint.
For further details on the work in this region, please contact:
Mark Ellis-Jones
Regional Development Officer
t: 0117 317 9499
e: mejones@wwf.org.uk
or visit the Stepping Forward website - www.steppingforward.org.uk