Human impact
Sustainable development
Prof. Melania Muño
Human impact
Human impact on the environment or anthropogenic
impact on the environment includes impacts on
biophysical environments, biodiversity, and other
resources
• Depends on population size and impact per person
• And the ways on what resources are being used
Impact
population
consumption
Sustainable development
Prof. Melania Muñoz G.
technology
Measurement
Yale University and Columbia University
Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI)
• 1999-2005
• It evaluates environmental sustainability relative to the paths of other
countries
Environmental Performance Index (EPI)
• 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014
Ranks countries on performance indicators
These indicators provide a gauge at a national government scale of how close
countries are to established environmental policy goals.
http://epi.yale.edu/
Sustainable development
Prof. Melania Muñoz G.
EPI score
• Methods: http://epi.yale.edu/our-methods
• Results 2014: http://epi.yale.edu/epi
• Costa Rica used to be #5 in the world, but in
2014…. It is #54
Sustainable development
Prof. Melania Muñoz G.
Population
7 billion early in
2012
to exceed 9
billion people by
2050.
Human population growth form 10,000 BC –
2000 AD
Sustainable development
Prof. Melania Muñoz G.
Population
Most of the increase will be
in developing countries
5.6 billion in 2009
7.9 billion in 2050.
The population of
developed regions slight
increase
1.23 billion
CR
1.28 billion
Sustainable development
Prof. Melania Muñoz G.
Carrying capacity
• The carrying capacity is the maximum population
size of the species that the environment can sustain
indefinitely
• Controlled by regulating factor: food, space, water,
sunlight
• Humans:
– Sanitation
– Medical care
Sustainable development
Prof. Melania Muñoz G.
Overshoot
• Overshoot occurs when a
population's consumption
exceeds the carrying
capacity of its
environment
• Humans are living beyond
the carrying capacity of
the planet
• Long-term estimates
suggest a peak at around
2070 of 9-10 billion
people, and then a slow
decrease to 8.4 billion by
2100
Sustainable development
Prof. Melania Muñoz G.
Ecological footprint
• It is a measure of human demand on the
Earth's ecosystems
It represents the amount of
biologically productive land and sea area
necessary to supply the resources
a human population consumes,
and to assimilate associated waste.
Sustainable development
Prof. Melania Muñoz G.
Consumption of
renewable resources
More than nature's ability
to replenish
Equal to nature's ability to
replenish
Less than nature's ability to
replenish
State of
environment
Environmental
degradation
Environmental
equilibrium
Environmental
renewal
Sustainability
Not sustainable
Steady state
economy
Environmentally
sustainable
Sustainability requires that human activity only uses
natural resources at a rate at which they can be
replenished naturally
Sustainable development
Prof. Melania Muñoz G.
Ecological footprint
Sustainable development
Prof. Melania Muñoz G.
2012 Report (data from 2009)
By country: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/trends/costa_rica/
2012 Report (data from 2009)
Footprint calculator:
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php
/GFN/page/calculators/
Sustainable development
Prof. Melania Muñoz G.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/following-thetrail-of-toxic-e-waste/
Sustainable development
Prof. Melania Muñoz G.
Thanks!
Sustainable development
2012
Prof. Melania Muñoz G.