"ecological deficit" is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
You can use it when describing a situation in which an ecosystem's resources are being consumed faster than they can be replenished. For example: The country has an ecological deficit, as it has been extracting natural resources faster than they can be replenished.
The EF of water resources measures the sustainable development of ecologic mainly through the ecological deficit and ecological surplus of water resources.
Fast forward to 2050 (with a projected population of around 9bn), and that average use rises to around 4 hectares per person - an ecological deficit equivalent to one whole Planet Earth.
The point is, the footprint approach muddles the issue rather than simplifying it, apparently for the sake of yielding an alarming overall ecological deficit.However, supposing everything WWF says about footprints is correct, how does the group come up with the catastrophe they have pencilled in for 2030?
Wusulijiang basin was in a state of ecological deficit and changed gradually serious, and the ecological deficit was − 11.11 million hm2 in 2011.
The Heilongjiang Province was in a state of ecological deficit in 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008 and 2011, and the ecological surplus situation was prominent in 2003 and 2009.
The main stream of Songhuajiang basin was in ecological deficit at 2000, 2001, 2007, 2001, 2011, and the general trend was the same as the ECC.
They maintain their ecological deficits by depleting their own stocks of fish, trees, and other resources, and importing them from other countries -- all the while accumulating more and more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and oceans.
This can be a pragmatic response to the recognition of the complexity and interrelatedness of the systems being managed and the difficulty in identifying the causes of ecological deficits, which are illustrated by the examples from Switzerland.
The world ecological footprint, for example, is calculated in global hectares per person and is a comprehensive metric that includes population; a food, fiber, and timber footprint; an energy footprint (including carbon emissions, fuel wood, nuclear, and hydro power); built-up land; total biocapacity; and ecological deficits (including water withdrawals and resources) (Loh and Wackernagel 2004).
The relationship between EF and ECC of water resources can be shown by the ecological surplus (deficit) which can be seen from Fig. 7.
Open image in new window Fig. 5 EF and ECC of water in Heilongjiang Open image in new window Fig. 6 Relation between the ECC and the rainfall Open image in new window Fig. 7 Ecological surplus (deficit) in Heilongjiang.
