La huella ecológica, un indicador clave hacia la sostenibilidad territorial: el caso de España

Antonio Cano Orellana

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Publicado: may 28, 2021
Resumen

Sin lugar a duda los seres humanos hemos sobrepasado los límites. Dicho de otro modo, en los primeros ocho meses de 2020 la humanidad hemos consumido el presupuesto natural de todo el año. Disponer de información e indicadores que permitan determinar el impacto ecológico del comportamiento humano es un factor clave para afrontar la crisis ambiental y caminar hacia una sociedad sostenible. La huella ecológica, indicador sintético de sostenibilidad territorial, ha sido extensamente utilizada como herramienta útil para la gestión y planificación de la sostenibilidad, y se considera también un poderoso instrumento educativo para modificar los comportamientos de producción y consumo. En este artículo, tomando a España como referencia, nos centraremos en la pauta de localización seguida por la población española y su impacto ambiental, a través de la estimación de la huella ecológica generada por los 8131 municipios españoles. Los resultados indican que la concentración de la población española, en una porción relativamente reducida de su territorio, principalmente en las grandes conurbaciones y el litoral, está estrechamente asociada a una huella ecológica que requiere del orden de 3,7 veces su superficie para satisfacer sus necesidades de producción y consumo.

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Palabras clave:
huella ecológica, sostenibilidad territorial, indicadores ecológicos, población, España
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