HUELLA ECOLÓGICA Y BIOCAPACIDAD: INDICADORES BIOFÍSICOS PARA LA GESTIÓN AMBIENTAL. El caso de Manizales, Colombia

Abstract

The well-being of people located in a territory (a country, a city, a town) is intimately bound to the capacity of goods and environmental services available. Knowing the population's requirements and the capacity of the available space for the satisfaction of their necessities is fundamental to guarantee environmental sustainability. Ecological Economy allows us, by calculating the Ecological Footprint EF and Biocapacity BC, to estimate the environmental deficit of the territory. Although at a global level the practical utility of these indicators for decision-making is limited, in the national, regional or local environments, they are useful instruments for decision-making in environmental planning and management; since they offer elements for the planning of land use, in aspects related to the provision of food, energy, water, housing and disposition of wastes of a city, like Manizales. This text presents in the first part, the calculation of Manizales' Ecological Footprint and Caldas' Biocapacity BC. In second place, the city's environmental deficit is considered. And finally, policies to improve the territorial management of Caldas and the well-being of Manizales' population are proposed in order to guarantee the environmental sustainability in the region.