Ecological footprint accounting: A multi-scale approach based on net primary productivity

Abstract

The Ecological footprint accounting is a resource accounting tool that is used to track the sustainability of human systems. In this paper, we present a new approach to calculate the Ecological Footprint metrics at different geographic scales using Net Primary Productivity data. Our study focuses on the town of Afourar, Morocco, as a case study examined at three different scales; national, regional, and provincial scale. In contrast with other studies, our footprint accounting results are expressed in what we have called territorial hectares. The accounting results show that geographic scale has a significant influence on the footprint model, where three cases of sustainability were found. This implies that the efforts to maintain the sustainability of territories are more important at some scales than others. We argue that the relationship between sustainability and geographic scale is both strong and complex and that sustainability is a spatially relative concept. Therefore, we conclude that multi-scale analysis is crucial for making sustainable decisions and management policies.