people and planet

1
so that even countries with natural reserves in 2012 are
expected to start running a deficit during 2015–2030
(Ewing et al., 2010; Global Footprint Network, 2016).
There is a clear relationship between modern lifestyles
and resource consumption. Countries that perform
better on the Human Development Index, measured
in terms of education, living standards and health, are
much likelier to have a much larger ecological footprint
(Figure 1.2a).
The countries with the largest ecological footprints
are mostly in Europe and Northern America. Countries
that have experienced rapid increases in education,
health and living standards, including the Republic
of Korea and Singapore, have seen their ecological
footprint nearly double as domestic consumption has
expanded. In contrast, countries with low levels of
human development, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, have
smaller ecological footprints. For instance, the ecological
footprints of Eritrea and Timor-Leste are less than 5% the
size of the largest footprints.
Countries struggle to find balance between human
development and sustainable practices. Some, including
Cuba, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Sri Lanka,
have begun to find it, managing to keep production and
consumption within sustainable bounds (Figure 1.2b).
Their citizens have relatively good health prospects, with
life expectancy between 68 and 79 years. People go to
school for 10 to 12 years, well above the global average
of 8 years. Yet, their per capita income is less than the
global average, from US$5,200 a year in the Republic of
Moldova to US$9,780 in Sri Lanka (UNDP, 2015b).
It should be noted that the condition of a country’s local
environment is not taken into account in comparisons of
human development and ecological footprints. Resources
are not distributed evenly among countries or even
among regions within countries. As a result, it may be
FIGURE 1.2A:
High levels of human development have come at an ecological cost
Total ecological footprint by Human Development Index, by country, 2012
An ecological footprint of less than 1.7
global hectares per person, given current
population and available productive land
and sea area (biocapacity), is sustainable;
the earth can replenish a country’s
resource use.
The Human Development Index (HDI,
by the UN Development Programme)
measures a country’s average
achievements in health, knowledge
and standard of living. An HDI value of
0.8 or more indicates very high human
development.
Singapore’s high HDI (0.91) is associated
with a large ecological footprint per
capita (7.97). This means that people in
Singapore, although living a good life,
also have high resource demand.
Ecological footprint (hectares per capita)
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
Unsustainable
ecological footprint
World biocapacity per person in 1961
High HDI
Very High HDI
Australia
Singapore
Rep. of Korea
Caucasus and Central Asia
Eastern and South-eastern Asia
2
World biocapacity per person in 2011
Europe and Northern America
Latin America and the Caribbean
Northern Africa and Western Asia
Pacific
Southern Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
1
0
0
See Fig. 1.2B
Sustainable
ecological footprint
Eritrea Timor-Leste
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Human Development Index
Source: GEM Report team analysis based on data from Global Footprint Network (2016).
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CHAPTER 1 | PLANET: ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY