“The ecological footprint is the best measure of the relationship between population and resources for different countries.” Discuss this statement.

Refer to Paper 1 Section B markbands (available under the "Resources" tab) when marking this question.

Responses should show an understanding of the ecological footprint and how it is calculated and its utility value in measuring the relationship between population and resource use in different national contexts.

Ecological footprint (EF) – The theoretical measurement of the amount of land and water a population requires to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its waste under prevailing technology. It is usually measured in global hectares per capita – allow other valid ways in which “measurement” can be shown.

The focus of the essay should be on assessing the reliability of the EF as a measure of per capita resource use for different countries. Candidates can agree or disagree with the statement but need to be able to support their position. It is also possible that responses may take a balanced view and look at the strengths and the weaknesses of this as a measure. Responses may give some up-to-date examples/data. They may equally suggest alternative methods more suited to measuring the relationship between populations and resource consumption. It is also equally acceptable that responses refer to the Neo- and anti-Malthusian debate as it is relevant in this context.

Some possible strengths of the EF as a measure of population–resource relationships include:

• easy comparison with other countries
• temporal comparison possible
• as per capita takes into account an individual’s average consumption level
• biocapacity (global hectares)
• feel-good factor/national pride
• helps achieve targets (eg, Paris 2015)
• perceived to be easy to calculate
• increases awareness.

Some possible weaknesses of the EF as a measure include:

• is only an average per person / extremely wealthy have much larger footprints
• only informative and not a solution
• assumes all of Earth’s biocapacity is for human needs only
• data can be unreliable.

For band D expect some description of how the EF can help/not help measure a country’s population/resource relationship. This need not be balanced.

For band E expect either some explanation of how the EF can help/not help measure a country’s population/resource relationship or some discussion of its effectiveness using examples.

For band F expect both.

Marks should be allocated according to Paper 1 Section B markbands.