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What is your Ecological Footprint?

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What do you know about these two concepts?

Ecological Footprint

Biocapacity

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How did the expression ‘Ecological Footprint’ was born

  • The term "footprint" became popular in the 1990s and entered our daily vocabulary as a metaphor for the impacts of human activities on the environment.

  • It originated from the dissemination of a specific methodology called the "Ecological Footprint”, proposed by William Rees and Mathis Wackernagel.

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Ecological Footprint – What is it?

  • The "Ecological Footprint" is an environmental accounting tool that measures the sustainability of the planet, a region, a country, a city, or an individual.

  • It is one of the most widely used environmental sustainability indicators in the world.

  • It allows for the comparison of different consumption patterns and verifies whether they fall within the planet's ecological capacity.

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What does it measure?

  • The quantity of natural resources that are needed annually for:
      • Producing goods and services;
      • Absorving all CO2 emissions.

  • Unit of measurement: Gha (Global hectares)

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Biocapacity – What is it?

  • The quantity of natural resources that are renewed annually by Nature.

  • Unit of measurement: Gha (Global hectares)

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Ecological�Footprint

Biocapacity

(Gha- global hectares/person)

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6 Ecological Footprint components

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Cálculo da Pegada Ecológica

ECOLOGICAL�FOOTPRINT

CONSUMPTION

ECOLOGICAL� FOOTPRINT

PRODUCTION

ECOLOGICAL�FOOTPRINT

IMPORTS

ECOLOGICAL�FOOTPRINT�EXPORTS

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Humanity’s Ecological Footprint (1961 – 2030)

Fonte: GFN, 2016

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Challenge:��Sort these human activities regarding their ecological footprint in Guimarães

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Results

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Group Dinamic

My ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT – I decide what I leave in the planet.

Objective: Raising awareness and encouraging reflection on individual behaviors and their impact on the ecological footprint.

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Group Exercise:

Objectives: Reduce Guimarães’ Ecological Footprint

Decisions to take:

    • Choose 3 main areas of acting;

    • Define the main actions to be applied in each area;

    • Define a goal to achieve for each area.

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Individual Exercise:“Calculate your Ecological Footprint”

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2016 Results

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