Campo Grande, in the Pantanal, is the 1st city in Brazil to develop an Ecological Footprint

The Ecological Footprint – a methodology created to assess the footprint left by humans on earth, due to our living habits and consumption patterns –, will, for the first time, be developed to measure the impact of a Brazilian City.  The partnership between WWF-Brazil and the Campo Grande Municipal Government for this purpose will be announced on Tuesday, March 9, in Campo Grande.

Campo Grande is the capital of Mato Grosso do Sul, one of the two Brazilian states where the Pantanal Wetland is located. The city of 724.638 inhabitants is also the home of WWF-Brazil´s  regional office.

So far, the ecological footprint in Brazil has been calculated only on an individual basis.  However, considering that people are grouped in the cities, individual habits affect the city as a whole and the group’s consumption reveals and reproduces the individual footprint.  Therefore, WWF-Brazil decided to assess the ecological footprint of a city (something that is already being tested by WWF network in other countries).

The aim of this work is to calculate the ecological footprint of the city – regarding residue generation and destination, transportation, food, housing, and other items – and to develop actions with partners to help reduce the impacts of such activities. The aim is to contribute to improve the city’s environmental performance and to decrease its ecological footprint.  

According to WWF-Brazil’s CEO, Denise Hamú, the result of this joint work will benefit not only the population in Campo Grande but also everywhere in Brazil. “We want to develop a methodology in Campo Grande and to make it a model to apply in other Brazilian cities”, says Hamú.

The items to be included in this study and the actions to decrease the footprint will be discussed with local partners, including the municipal government, education and research institutions, business organizations and NGOs.  The purpose is to develop a work plan for the entire year.

WWF-Brazil’s Pantanal Forever Program Coordinator, Michael Becker, points out that the ecological footprint can be used as a city management tool.  “Our object is to magnify the good experiences which are already being developed and to propose actions to improve whatever needs to be improved”, says Becker. 

About the Ecological Footprint – The ecological footprint of a country, city or person is equivalent to the size of the terrestrial and marine productive areas which are needed to produce and sustain a certain life style.  It is a way of converting, into hectares, the average amount of territory “used” by a person or a society to ensure its food, housing, locomotion, leisure, consumption and other habits.

The Ecological Footprint is an estimate, not an exact measurement. In order to calculate the footprint, the various types of productive territories (agricultural land, pastures, oceans, forests, built areas) and the various ways of consumption (food, housing, energy, assets and services, transportation and so forth) were studied.  Technology, population size and other data were also taken into account.

By means of specific tables, each type of consumption is converted in an area which is measured in hectares.  It is also necessary to include the areas used to accommodate the generated debris and residues, as well as to set aside a certain amount of land and water for nature itself, so that animals, plants and ecosystems may live and thus ensure the biodiversity conservation.

Pantanal Wetland

The Pantanal is the world’s largest wetland system. Its Basin encompasses an area of 624.320 km2 of which 61% is located in Brazil, 20% in Bolivia and 19% in Paraguay. This huge freshwater reservoir is important for the protection of freshwater ecosystems, the climate stabilization, land conservation, and the maintenance of its rich biodiversity.  It is the home of 4.700 species. Among the ones already known,  are  3.500  plant species,  325  fish species,  53 amphibian species, 98 reptile species, 656 bird species and  159 mammal species.

For this reason, WWF-Brazil elected in 1998 the Pantanal Wetland as one of its main regions to work with projects that links conservation and regional development. To guarantee the sustainability of the projects, the work is done involving local actors, aiming to establish partnerships that stimulate the adoption of good social and environmental practices.