TORONTO, February 6, 2008 -- York University researchers are leading the push to assess the ecological footprint as an indicator of environmental health and sustainability in Canada.
“Our impact on the environment needs to be tracked as closely as our economy,” says York University Professor Peter Victor, co-chair of the Ecological Footprint Workshop, a meeting of experts* taking place at York on Thursday, Feb. 7 and Friday, Feb. 8, 2008.
“We have a whole host of economic indicators, but few good indicators of sustainability,” Victor says.
The workshop, commissioned by Statistics Canada, will examine the conceptual soundness, methodology and relevance of the ecological footprint. The ecological footprint measures the area of biologically productive land and water needed to provide natural resources and services to support us. By comparing this area with the area of biologically productve land available, the ecological footprint offers a means of determining whether our activities are environmentally sustainable. The workshop will address the question of how effectively it does this.
Ecological footprint developers, UBC professor William Rees, and Mathis Wackernagel, Executive Director of the Global Footprint Network, will participate alongside two dozen experts from Canada, the US, Europe and Japan.
Current estimates of the global ecological footprint suggest that humanity’s ecological footprint already exceeds the Earth’s biological capacity. At the national level, Canada is one of very few developed countries with an ecological footprint that is less than the country’s biological capacity, but the gap is closing fast according to estimates produced by the Global Footprint Network.
“For decades now we’ve been trying to develop environmental indicators, and this is the one that has really captured the attention of the public. There’s a real opportunity for Canada to take leadership in this area, but we need first to be certain that the ecological footprint is both sound and relevant,” says Victor. “That’s why this workshop is so important. It offers the chance for a diverse group of experts to sit together and discuss its strengths and weaknesses.”
York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 200,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 11 faculties and 24 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
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Media contact:
*N.B. The workshop sessions are not open to media but Peter Victor and Mathis Wackernagel will be available for comment.
Janice Walls, Media Relations, York University, 416 736 2100 x22101 / wallsj@yorku.ca
