Ecosystem appropriation by cities

Ambio

Volumn 26, Issue 3, 1997, Pages 167-172

  Folke, Carl ^a   Jansson, Åsa ^a   Larsson, Jonas ^a   Costanza, Robert ^b  

^a ROYAL SWEDISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES   (Sweden)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ECOSYSTEM DAMAGE; ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION; MAN-ENVIRONMENT RELATIONS; RESOURCES CONSUMPTION; URBANISATION;

BALTIC;

EID: 0030616991     PISSN: 00447447     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (65)

1. UN Department of Public Information. 1995. Habitat II, The City Summit, Flyer
2. Simpson, J.R. 1993. Urbanization, agro-ecological zones and food production sustainability. Outlook Agric. 22, 233-239.
3. Ehrlich, P.R. and Mooney, H.A. 1983.Extinction, substitution and ecosystem services. BioScience 33, 248-254.
4. Folke, C. 1991. Socioeconomic dependence on the life-supporting environment. In: Linking the Natural Environment and the Economy. Folke, C. and Kåberger, T. (eds). Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp. 77-94.
5. de Groot, R.S. 1992. Functions of Nature. Wolters-Noordhoff, Amsterdam.
6. Jansson, A.M., Hammer, M., Folke, C. and Costanza, R. (eds). Investing in Natural Capital: The Ecological Economics Approach to Sustainability. Island Press, Washington, DC.
7. Rees, W.E. 1992. Ecological footprints and appropriated carrying capacity: What urban economies leaves out. Environ. Urbaniz. 4, 121-130.
8. Rees, W.E. 1996. Revisiting carrying capacity: Area-based indicators of sustainability. Popul. Environ. 17, 192-215.
9. Rees, W.E. and Wackernagel, M. 1994. Ecological footprints and appropriated carrying capacity: measuring the natural capital requirements of the human economy. In: Investing in Natural Capital: The Ecological Economics Approach to Sustainability. Jansson, A.-M., Hammer, M., Folke, C. and Costanza, R. (eds). Island Press, Washington, DC, pp. 362-390.
10. Wackernagel, M. and Rees, W.E. 1995. Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on Earth. New Society Publishers, Cabriola Isld, BC and Philadelphia, PA.
11. Eleven of those have cities within the drainage basin with > 250 000 inhabitants, namely Czech Republic 2, Denmark 2, Estonia 1, Finland 1, Germany 2, Latvia 1, Lithuania 2, Poland 13, Russia 1, Sweden 3 and Ukraine 1 city.
12. Among the megacities are Buenos Aires, Dacca, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Cairo, Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Jakarta, Osaka, Tokyo, Seoul, Mexico City, Lagos, Karachi, Manila, Los Angeles, New York.
13. Folke, C., Larsson, J. and Sweitzer, J. 1996. Renewable resource appropriation by cities. In: Getting Down to Earth. Costanza, R., Segura, O. and Martinez-Alier, J. (eds). Island Press, Washington, DC, pp. 201-221.
14. FAO Agrostat Database. 1990. FAO, Rome. We consistently used supply as defined by FAO as a measure of total consumption, rather than direct or actual per capita consumption. This is preferable to consumption since supply also includes losses incurred on storage, transport, processing, etc.
15. Sweitzer, J., Langaas, S. and Folke, C. 1996. Land use and population density in the Baltic Sea drainage basin: a GIS database. Ambio 25, 191-198.
16. WRI. 1992. The World Resources Data Base on Diskette. The World Resources Institute. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. We used fish yields for shelf areas from the North Sea. The estimate is conservative since discards or by catch are not included.
17. 2.
18. 2.
19. Larsson, U., Elmgren, R. and Wulff, F.1985. Eutrophication and the Baltic Sea - Causes and consequenses. Ambio 14, 9-14.
20. Folke, C., Hammer, M. and. Jansson, A.M. 1991. Life-support value of ecosystems: A case study of the Baltic Sea region. Ecol. Econ. 3, 123-137.
21. Gren, I.-M. 1991. Costs for nitrogen source reduction to a eutrophicated bay in Sweden. In: Linking the Natural Environment and the Economy. Folke, C. and Kåberger, T. (eds). Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp. 173-188.
22. Leonardsson, L. 1994. Wetlands as Nitrogen Sinks: Swedish and International Experience. Report 4176. Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Stockholm.
23. Gren, I.-M. 1995. The value of investing in wetlands for nitrogen abatement. Eur. Rev. Agric. Econ. 22, 157-172.
24. -2, based on Å. Jansson, C. Folke, and S. Langaas. Quantifying the nitrogen retention capacity of natural wetlands in the large-scale drainage basin of the Baltic Sea. (in review).
25. -1 need to be added in the long run to maintain the agricultural system in balance (Günther, F. 1997. Hampered effluent accumulation processes: Phosphorus management and societal structure. Ecol. Econ.). (In press).
26. -1 need to be added in the long run to maintain the agricultural system in balance (Günther, F. 1997. Hampered effluent accumulation processes: Phosphorus management and societal structure. Ecol. Econ.). (In press).
27. 2 Emissions from Industrial Processes 1991. Table 23.1. 1994. World Resources Institute, World Resources 1994-95. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
28. Winjum, J.K., Dixon, R.K. and Schroeder, P.E. 1992. Estimating the global potential of forest and agroforest management practices to sequester carbon. Water Air Soil Pollut. 64, 213-227.
29. Kauppi, P.E., Mielikäinen, K. and Kuusela, K. 1992. Biomass and carbon budget of European forests, 1971-1990. Science 256, 70-74.
30. Eriksson, H. 1991. Sources and sinks of carbon dioxide in Sweden. Ambio 20, 146-150.
31. Eriksson, H. (29), Wulff, F., Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University, Sweden. (Pers.comm.)
32. -2 and year (based on SNV. 1992. Åtgärder mot klimatfo̊råndringar, Rapport 4120. Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Stockholm; SNV. 1991. Växthusgaserna: utsläpp och åtgärder i internationellt perspektiv, Rapport 4011. Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Stockholm; IPCC. 1992. Climate Change, The Supplementary Report to the IPCC Scientific Assessment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge; Rodhe, H., Eriksson, H., Robertson, K., and Svensson, B.H. 1991.Sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in Sweden: A case study. Ambio 20, 143-145; Kauppi, P.E. et al. (28); Eriksson, H. (29)).
33. -2 and year (based on SNV. 1992. Åtgärder mot klimatfo̊råndringar, Rapport 4120. Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Stockholm; SNV. 1991. Växthusgaserna: utsläpp och åtgärder i internationellt perspektiv, Rapport 4011. Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Stockholm; IPCC. 1992. Climate Change, The Supplementary Report to the IPCC Scientific Assessment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge; Rodhe, H., Eriksson, H., Robertson, K., and Svensson, B.H. 1991.Sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in Sweden: A case study. Ambio 20, 143-145; Kauppi, P.E. et al. (28); Eriksson, H. (29)).
34. -2 and year (based on SNV. 1992. Åtgärder mot klimatfo̊råndringar, Rapport 4120. Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Stockholm; SNV. 1991. Växthusgaserna: utsläpp och åtgärder i internationellt perspektiv, Rapport 4011. Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Stockholm; IPCC. 1992. Climate Change, The Supplementary Report to the IPCC Scientific Assessment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge; Rodhe, H., Eriksson, H., Robertson, K., and Svensson, B.H. 1991.Sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in Sweden: A case study. Ambio 20, 143-145; Kauppi, P.E. et al. (28); Eriksson, H. (29)).
35. -2 and year (based on SNV. 1992. Åtgärder mot klimatfo̊råndringar, Rapport 4120. Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Stockholm; SNV. 1991. Växthusgaserna: utsläpp och åtgärder i internationellt perspektiv, Rapport 4011. Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Stockholm; IPCC. 1992. Climate Change, The Supplementary Report to the IPCC Scientific Assessment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge; Rodhe, H., Eriksson, H., Robertson, K., and Svensson, B.H. 1991.Sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in Sweden: A case study. Ambio 20, 143-145; Kauppi, P.E. et al. (28); Eriksson, H. (29)).
36. -2 and year (based on Eriksson, H. (29)).
37. -2 and year (based on Eriksson, H. (29)).
38. 2 of agricultural land in the Baltic Sea drainage basin (15). We assume that P-emissions from city inhabitants are processed in sewage treatment plants with 90% ± 4% (95% conf.interval) purification (data derived from Gren, I.-M., Elofsson, K., and Jannke, P. In revision. Costs of nutrient reduction to the Baltic Sea. Environ. Resource Econ.), with no losses of P from purification to sludge (Stockholm Water, pers.comm.), and low enough concentration of heavy metals and organic pollutants for the sludge to be acceptable as manure on agricultural land. Excretory release from city inhabitants 0.5-1 kg P per person and year (Guterstam, B. 1991. Ecological engineering for wastewater treatment: Theoretical foundations and practical realities. In: Ecological Engineering for Wastewater Treatment. Etnier, C. and Guterstam, B. (eds). Bokskogen, Gothenburg, Sweden, pp. 38-54; SCB. 1987. The Natural Environment in Figures, Official Statistics of Sweden, Statistics Sweden, Stockholm).
39. 2 of agricultural land in the Baltic Sea drainage basin (15). We assume that P-emissions from city inhabitants are processed in sewage treatment plants with 90% ± 4% (95% conf.interval) purification (data derived from Gren, I.-M., Elofsson, K., and Jannke, P. In revision. Costs of nutrient reduction to the Baltic Sea. Environ. Resource Econ.), with no losses of P from purification to sludge (Stockholm Water, pers.comm.), and low enough concentration of heavy metals and organic pollutants for the sludge to be acceptable as manure on agricultural land. Excretory release from city inhabitants 0.5-1 kg P per person and year (Guterstam, B. 1991. Ecological engineering for wastewater treatment: Theoretical foundations and practical realities. In: Ecological Engineering for Wastewater Treatment. Etnier, C. and Guterstam, B. (eds). Bokskogen, Gothenburg, Sweden, pp. 38-54; SCB. 1987. The Natural Environment in Figures, Official Statistics of Sweden, Statistics Sweden, Stockholm).
40. 2 of agricultural land in the Baltic Sea drainage basin (15). We assume that P-emissions from city inhabitants are processed in sewage treatment plants with 90% ± 4% (95% conf.interval) purification (data derived from Gren, I.-M., Elofsson, K., and Jannke, P. In revision. Costs of nutrient reduction to the Baltic Sea. Environ. Resource Econ.), with no losses of P from purification to sludge (Stockholm Water, pers.comm.), and low enough concentration of heavy metals and organic pollutants for the sludge to be acceptable as manure on agricultural land. Excretory release from city inhabitants 0.5-1 kg P per person and year (Guterstam, B. 1991. Ecological engineering for wastewater treatment: Theoretical foundations and practical realities. In: Ecological Engineering for Wastewater Treatment. Etnier, C. and Guterstam, B. (eds). Bokskogen, Gothenburg, Sweden, pp. 38-54; SCB. 1987. The Natural Environment in Figures, Official Statistics of Sweden, Statistics Sweden, Stockholm).
41. Ecosystems are multifunctional in the sense that one system generates several resources and ecological services. To avoid double-counting we do not add footprints of different ecosystem services performed by the same ecosystem.
42. Cities with > 250 000 inhabitants from Europe and the US, and with > 400 000 inhabitants from the rest of the world (SCB. 1996. Statistic Yearbook. Statistics Sweden, Stockholm).
43. The average per capita seafood consumption in the Baltic region is 19 kg/person and year.
44. 740 million people in cities with < GNP per capita and 400 million people with > GNP/ capita than Eastern Europe cities (GNP per capita from WRI. 1994. World Resources Institute, World Resources 1994-95. Oxford University Press, Oxford UK).
45. 2 shelf, coastal, upwelling area [based on data in Pauly, D. and Christensen, V. 1995. Primary production required to sustain global fisheries. Nature 374, 255-257.
46. Folke, C. and Kautsky, N. 1989. The role of ecosystems for a sustainable development of aquaculture. Ambio 18, 234-243.
47. 2 budget. Science 247, 1431-1438.
48. 2. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
49. Carbon sequestering and average retention in mid and high latitudinal belts in relation to area of current forests of the belts (based on Tables 1 and 3 in Dixon, R.K., Brown, S., Houghton, R.A, Solomon, A.M., Trexler, M.C., and Wisniewski, J. 1994. Carbon pools and fluxes of global forest ecosystems. Science 263, 185-189).
50. IPCC. 1995. Radiative Forcing of Climate Change, IPCC Special Report. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
51. Borgström, G. 1967. The Hungry Planet. Macmillan, NY.
52. Odum, E.P. 1989. Ecology and Our Endangered Life-Support Systems. Sinauer, Sunderland, MA.
53. It is also an underestimate since discards from fisheries are not included and since only the assimilaion of the excretory release of N and P from city inhabitants is estimated.
54. As emphasized by for example the Ocean Studies Board, National Research Council, USA.
55. Daily, G.C. and Ehrlich, P.R.1992. Population, sustainability and earth's carrying capacity. BioScience 42, 761-771.
56. Kendall, H.W. and Pimentel, D. 1994. Constraints on the expansion of the global food supply. Ambio 23, 198-205.
57. Holling, C.S. 1994. An ecologists view on the Malthusian conflict. In: Population, Economic Development, and the Environment. Lindahl-Kiessling, K. and Landberg, H. (eds). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, pp. 79-103.
58. Andersson, T., Folke, C. and Nyström, S. 1995. Trading with the Environment: Ecology, Economics, Institutions and Policy. Earthscan, London.
59. Costanza, R., Audley, J., Borden, R., Ekins, P., Folke, C., Funtowicz, S. and Harris, J. 1995. Sustainable trade: A new paradigm for world welfare. Environment 37, 16-24.
60. Barbier, E.B., Burgess, J. and Folke, C. 1994. Paradise Lost? The Ecological Economics of Biodiversity. Earthscan, London.
61. Folke, C., Holling, C.S. and Perrings, C. Biodiversity, ecosystems and the human scale. Ecol. Appl. 6, 1018-1024.
62. Costanza, R., Wainger, L., Folke, C. and. Mäler, K.-G. 1993. Modeling complex ecological economic systems: Toward an evolutionary, dynamic understanding of people and nature. BioScience 43, 545-555.
63. Ezcurra, E. and Mazari-Hiriart, M. 1996. Are mega cities viable? Environment 38, 6-15.
64. We thank Paul Ehrlich, Gretchen Daily, Dale Rothman, William Rees and an anonymous reviewer for most valuable comments. This work is a part of the Baltic Drainage Basin Project approved by the EU Environment Research Programme 1991-1994, with financial support from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (NV) and the Swedish Council for Planning and Coordination of Research (FRN). Carl Folke's work was partly funded through grants from the Swedish Council for Forestry and Agricultural Research (SJFR) and the Pew Charitable Trusts.
65. First submitted 16 September 1996. Accepted for publication after revision 26 November 1996.