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Abstract:
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In the past, natural resources were plentiful and people were scarce. But the situation is rapidly reversing. Our challenge is
to find a way to balance human consumption and nature’s limited productivity in order to ensure that our communities are sustainable locally,
regionally and globally. Kochi, the commercial capital of Kerala, South India and the second most important city next to Mumbai on the
Western coast is a land having a wide variety of residential environments. Due to rapid population growth, changing lifestyles, food
habits and living standards, institutional weaknesses, improper choice of technology and public apathy, the present pattern of the city can
be classified as that of haphazard growth with typical problems characteristics of unplanned urban development. Ecological
Footprint Analysis (EFA) is physical accounting method, developed by William Rees and M. Wackernagel, focusing on land appropriation
using land as its “currency”. It provides a means for measuring and communicating human induced environmental impacts upon the planet.
The aim of applying EFA to Kochi city is to quantify the consumption and waste generation of a population and to compare it with the existing
biocapacity. By quantifying the ecological footprint we can formulate strategies to reduce the footprint and there by having a sustainable
living. In this paper, an attempt is made to explore the tool Ecological Footprint Analysis and calculate and analyse the ecological footprint
of the residential areas of Kochi city. The paper also discusses and analyses the waste footprint of the city. An attempt is also made to suggest
strategies to reduce the footprint thereby making the city sustainable |