Resource Constraints in the Mediterranean Region
Resource Constraints in the Mediterranean Region: Exploring the Links Between Ecological and Economic Crises - Oakland, CA, September 19, 2012
Growing demands on the Mediterranean region’s ecosystems threaten the foundation of its social and economic well-being, the international think tank Global Footprint Network reports in a two-year study whose findings will be released at an international conference here on October 1. Global Footprint Network’s report, Mediterranean Ecological Footprint Trends, show an ever widening ecological deficit. Between 1961 and 2008, the most recent year data were available, growing population and consumption trends tripled the region’s demand for renewable resources and ecological services. By 2008, the region’s Ecological Footprint—the demand on Earth’s bioproductive land and sea areas—exceeded local available ecological assets by more than 150 percent.