IB GEOGRAPHY

CORE TOPIC 4

Patterns in
Resource Consumption

This topic is split into:

Resource management and the
ecological footprint
Malthus theories
Oil production and consumption
Alternative energy
Hydroelectric power case-study
Conservation/ recycling
National/ global initiatives

1. The ecological footprint

Aims
Evaluate the ecological footprint as a
measure of the relationship between
population size and resource
consumption.
Identify international variations in its
size.

Ecological Footprint Intro

Questions
READ PAGES 167-169
What is a nation's ecological footprint?
How is a 'carbon footprint' different from an 'ecological
footprint'?
What is a nation's biocapacity?
Why might the biocapacity of a nation decrease?
Why might the ecological footprint of a nation increase?
Is there a link between population size and the
ecological footprint?
Evaluate the ecological footprint as a measure of the
relationship between population size and resource
consumption.

 Ecological Footprint [according to the IB]: 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.
Ecological Footprint [according to Global Footprint Network]:
a measure of the demand human activity puts on the biosphere.
More precisely, it measures the amount of biologically productive
land and water area required to produce all the resources an
individual, population, or activity consumes, and to absorb the waste
they generate, given prevailing technology and resource
management practices. This area can then be compared with
biological capacity (biocapacity), the amount of productive area that
is available to generate these resources and to absorb the waste.
Carrying Capacity: The number of people that can be supported by
a given ecosystem, given their consumption of natural resources and
use of technology.