An analysis of ecological footprint trade and sustainable carrying capacity of the population in Macao

Abstract

Ecological footprint (EF) is a useful tool for exploring human impacts on natural ecosystems and has been widely applied. Until now, an important issue on the relationship between population sustainable carrying capacity and EF trade has rarely been discussed. EF trade can have positive or negative impacts on demand and supply of resources, and often changes the ecological carrying capacity of a country, region or city. This study focused on relationships between population carrying capacity and trade using the EF analysis framework. Taking Macao City as a case study, EFs from 1977 to 2004 were calculated. An ecological economic indicator, EF/US$1000, was used to analyse relationships between international trade of EF and carrying capacity, and a method for calculating population carrying capacity was also established to compare differences in sustainable populations in other countries. The results indicate that EF trade among countries, regions and cities can make up for shortages of domestic ecological resources and expand the population carrying capacity. In terms of ecological carrying capacity, the developmental status of the population in Macao was weakly sustainable. This research is helpful for a country, region or city to adjust its style of consumption and population size towards a reasonable level of sustainability.