9 hectares per person the curve has stabilized since the mid1990s

Political discourse on the defence of the environment and the fight against climate change in recent years have almost done us forget the reality: the man is unable to reverse the trend and continues to increase the pressure on the natural environment.

Index that measures more 1,600 species conservation has decreased by 30 in the last thirty-five years and the pressure of humanity on the planet has more than doubled, says the "Living planet" report published yesterday by the association for the defence of the WWF International environment.

Forty years ago, almost all countries had the capacity to respond to the request of their own citizens. "More than three-quarters of the world's population live in countries whose national consumption exceeds the biological capacity of their countries," said James Leape, Director General of WWF international.

To satisfy the urgent need to act, this report, published every two years by the association for the defence of the environment, a network of scientists (Global Footprint Network) and the Zoological Society of London, invented the concept of "ecological footprint". It uses as the unit of account not a monetary equivalent as gross domestic product, but the surface of the globe used by man to satisfy his needs and absorb its waste. Calculated in hectares per person, per year, the index shows that in 2005 the demand was 30 greater than the capacity of regeneration of the planet.

Exhaustion of ecosystems

Overfishing is increasing and ecosystems are depleted, causing deforestation, water scarcity, biodiversity decline and global warming. If nothing is done, in 2030 we will need two planets to meet the demands for goods and services of humanity. "The current financial downturn is nothing compared to the threat of an ecological credit crunch", turns the report.

Good news in this landscape depressing, if the French footprint increased by 85 between 1961 and 2005 to 4.9 hectares per person, the curve has stabilized since the mid-1990s.

And the Germany managed the tour de force to continue to maintain a gross domestic product growing by regularly reduce its ecological footprint. The effects of reunification, which caused the closure of the most polluting factories, but especially twenty years of policy of support to renewable energy, energy efficiency, and strict waste management have borne fruit. Conversely, the Spain, champion of the construction of housing, has a footprint of 6 hectares, less good than that of the Germany of 4 hectares! Remember that the more wasteful remain Arab Emirates with 9.5 hectares per person... from 0.5 to Malawi. Also impressive is the place of China, which has become the US level in terms of consumption of biological capacity. Beijing course has a much smaller footprint per person than the United States, but a population more than four times. What are the effects of the financial crisis on the level of consumption and production in the world, the next report in two years should be also demoralising. The weight of China in the world production was increased, the Americans and Europeans have not changed substantially their level of consumption... and Beijing doubled last year the United States in total amount of CO2 emitted in the atmosphere.