Engaging with the Ecological Footprint as a Decision-Making Tool: Process and Responses

Since the initial development of the Ecological Footprint in the early 1990s, the concept has gained increased interest amongst academics and practitioners internationally. In the UK, it is estimated that some 60 to 70 Ecological Footprint studies were undertaken between 1999 and 2004. Although the majority of interest in Ecological Footprinting has come from local government, a recent study has found that government officers involved in the formulation of council policy have not been able to engage with the Ecological Footprint as a process or use the results to inform policy decisions. This paper analyses how an Ecological Footprint has been developed for Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The approach used to construct an Ecological Footprint for Cardiff has been significantly different to that which had been used previously in the UK, as it has involved a unique consortium of researchers at Cardiff University and policy development officers at Cardiff Council checking the quality of data used in the Footprint calculation, and developing a range of policy scenarios.