Key points

People use the natural environment for its resources and as a place to dispose of waste. The ‘Regional Ecological Footprint’ measures the effect of these types of activities on the Waikato region. It is expressed as units of land needed to sustain our current lifestyle - for example, hectares per person, per region, or per country.

• The ecological footprint of an average Waikato resident (5.8 ha person) is slightly smaller than that of an average New Zealander (5.9 ha per person).
• The ecological footprint of an average Waikato (or New Zealand) resident is about 7 times greater than that of an average person living in India.
• Waikato’s (and New Zealand’s) per person ecological footprint is also larger than that of Japan and many European Nations.
• New Zealand’s ecological footprint is in the top 10 (which includes the United States, Canada and Australia) out of 150 nations surveyed in the 'Living Planet Report 2006'.

Source: Environment Waikato

What agencies are doing

• Sections 2 and 3 of Environment Waikato’s Regional Policy Statement has information on efficient energy use, integrated management of resources, management of greenhouse gases and climate change and our regional economy.
• Environment Waikato is working with the Ministry for the Environment to develop a Footprint Calculator which can be used to estimate the ecological footprints of individuals or households._⁵
• We are identifying cost-effective actions to reduce people's individual footprints as well as that of business and industry in key economic sectors.
• We provide incentives for ‘best management practices’ that reduce ecological footprints (for example, the Business and Environment Awards and the Farm Environment Awards).
• Environment Waikato co-ordinates the development of a regional ‘Waste Minimisation Strategy’ and regional development and growth strategies.
• Working with the Government to develop and implement waste management, biodiversity, transport and other strategies.
• Environment Waikato is gathering information on consumption and production patterns, linking economic activities to environmental aspects (for example, efficient use of natural resources and energy).

What you can do to help

You can reduce your ecological footprint by:

• minimising the amount of waste generated
• recycling paper, glass, plastic and other material
• composting organic material
• conserving or re-using water
• buying energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs
• increasing the amount of renewable energy used (water, solar, wind)
• driving less, using public transport, biking or walking where possible
• buying goods that require less packaging
• avoiding the purchase of unnecessary consumer goods.

More information

More detail on this indicator, including how and where this information is collected, is available here.

What we want to achieve

The community outcome we are seeking to achieve by measuring our regional ecological footprint is:

• Our region has economic growth and development that is well-planned and balanced with environmental, cultural and social needs and values.