Slow Conservation

This study aims to investigate the dynamic causal links among ecological footprint, economic growth, non-renewable and renewable energy consumption and financial development of G7 countries for the 1990-2020 period. In the long run, FMOLS, DOLS and CCR results show that economic growth and non-renewable energy consumption have a positive effect on the ecological footprint, while renewable energy consumption and financial development have an adverse impact on the ecological footprint. According to the MMQR approach, non-renewable energy consumption has the most potent positive effect on the ecological footprint. The impact of renewable energy consumption on the ecological footprint is negative, but its effect is low. Policymakers should focus on increasing renewable energy investment and enhancing financial sector mechanisms for green financing to reduce the ecological footprint in G7 countries.

PurposeThe research is geared towards studying the impact of “GDP per capita (GDP)”, “energy consumption (EC)”, “human capital (HC)” and “trade openness (TO)” on India's ecological footprint (EF) from 1997–1998 to 2019–2020.Design/methodology/approachThe autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) bound test was used to look at the short-run and long-term coefficients and the cointegration of the variables.FindingsThe results depicted a long-run connection between the variables. The long-run results found a favourable relationship between GDP, EC and EF, indicating that economic growth through heavy reliance on fossil fuels contributes to environmental unsustainability. An inverse relationship between HC, TO and EF was also observed, indicating that education fosters pro-environmental behaviour and leads to adopting cleaner technology that contributes to environmental sustainability.Research limitations/implicationsThe research substantiates India's pressing requirement for sustainable development, ensuring a harmonious balance between economic performance and environmental preservation. A carefully designed policy needs to be formulated to mitigate emissions stemming from growth in India. Policymakers are urged to implement measures that promote ecologically friendly tools, utilities and transportation to curb long-term environmental degradation.Originality/valueThe study is novel, incorporating an exhaustive review using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). This study further examines how India's EF is affected by its HC; the preceding literature has yet to discuss much about the connection between HC and the environment. Finally, the study employed advanced econometric techniques, namely the cointegration technique and ARDL model, to find the relationship between EF, GDP, HC, EC and TO.

The authors' examination of quantitative data analysis tools through Evidence-Based Software Engineering (EBSE) and PRISMA flow, within a 6-year review of published journal articles, is commendable for its potential impact on sustainable engineering practices. Identifying top tools like SPSS, R, Stata, Excel, SAS, SmartPLS, MATLAB, AMOS, LISREL, and MPlus, and emphasizing their usage trends provides valuable insights for researchers and educators. However, the paper could enhance its contribution to sustainability by urging the preference for open-source tools, aligning with principles of collaboration, and minimizing environmental impact. Including an evaluation of tools' ecological footprints, such as energy consumption and waste generation, would further align with sustainable engineering goals. Additionally, considering emerging trends in sustainable data analysis tools could help researchers stay informed about evolving technologies. In summary, while the paper offers crucial insights into quantitative tools, integrating sustainability considerations, promoting open-source options, and evaluating ecological footprints could significantly enhance its relevance to sustainable engineering practices concisely.

In recent decades, climate change and environmental pollution have been at the center of global environmental debates. Nowadays, researchers have turned their attention to the linkage between real output and environmental quality and test the environmental Kuznets curve. Majority of the studies focus on a single pollutant aspect and measure the deterioration of the environment through carbon emission (CO2) only. In contrary, the current study uses a comprehensive proxy, ecological footprint, to measure the environmental quality of the sixteen Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs). The aim of this paper is to discover the impact of financial development, economic growth, and energy consumption (renewable and non-renewable) on the environment. In addition, for the first time, the current study includes biocapacity and human capital in the growth-energy-environment nexus in the case of CEECs. In doing so, we used annual data of sixteen CEE countries in perspective of the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative and cover the period of 1991-2014. For reliable findings, this study focuses on second-generation econometric approaches to check stationarity, cross-sectional dependency, and co-integration among the model parameters. The long-run estimations of the "Dynamic Seemingly Unrelated-co-integration Regression" (DSUR) signify that the effect of economic growth on ecological footprint is not stable and validate N-shaped relationship for cubic functional form between per capita income and ecological footprint (environmental quality). Empirical evidence divulges that financial development and energy use significantly contribute to environmental degradation while renewable energy improves environmental quality by declining ecological footprint significantly. Moreover, the significant effects of biocapacity and human capital are positive and negative on the ecological footprint, respectively. In robustness check through the "Feasible Generalized Least Square" (FGLS) and "Generalized Method of Moment" (GMM) models, we found consistent result. Lastly, the "Dumitrescu-Hurlin (D-H) Panel Causality Test" demonstrates that two-way causal relationship exists between EF and GDP, EF and FD, EF and EU, EF and BC, and EF and HC, while one-way causality is running from RE to EF. This study puts the present scenario of CEE economies in front of the policymakers and suggests that they should consider the vital role of renewable energy and human capital to get sustainability.

The ecological footprint is a noteworthy indicator when it is desired to ensure sustainability and make ecological assessments. The ecological footprint quantitatively reveals the relationship between human activities and the supply and demand for natural resources in the ecosystem. In particular, it is important to determine the behaviours of university students towards reducing their ecological footprint. Today, it is essential to raise awareness through sustainable practices so that university students are on a trend towards reducing their ecological footprint. For this purpose, the awareness levels of students studying in eight different departments in the faculty of education of a state university on ecological footprint were examined. The descriptive survey model was used in the study. The awareness levels of the students about ecological footprint were analysed according to variables such as gender, department, longest residence, economic income level, and parents' education level. The data were obtained with the “Ecological Footprint Awareness Scale” developed by Coşkun and Sarıkaya (2014). Data analysis was done with the SPSS 23 package program. According to the research findings, the awareness levels of the students were the highest in the “Energy” and “Water Consumption” sub-dimensions and the lowest in the “Food” sub-dimension. In addition, students' ecological footprint awareness levels show a significant difference according to gender, economic income level, and mother's education level. On the other hand, it was determined that the awareness levels of the students did not show a significant difference according to the department they studied and the place of residence where they lived for the longest time.

과거 50여 년간 한국의 생태발자국(Ecological Footprint, EF)은 가파르게 증가해 왔으며, 이에 따라 오버슈트(Overshoot) 역시 증가해 왔다. 오버슈트를 야기하는 중요한 원인에는 인구 증가와 일인당 자원 사용 강도 증가가 있다. 본 연구에서는 이들 원인 가운데 어떤 변수가 지난 50여 년간 한국의 EF에 더 큰 영향을 미쳤는지에 대해 알아보았다. 소비 부문들 가운데, 에너지 소비에 따른 탄소발자국(Carbon Footprint, CF), 단백질 섭취에 따른 초지발자국(Grazing Land Footprint)과 어장 발자국(Fishing Grounds)이 EF 증가에 크게 영향을 주었다. 지난 50여 년간의 추세가 앞으로도 유지된다면, 2060년에는 일인당 EF 값이 2009년 현재의 2배에 달할 것으로 보이며, 2031년 이후 인구가 감소함에도 불구하고 1인당 EF 값의 증가에 따른 영향으로 EF는 2059년까지 증가할 것으로 보인다. 그러므로 향후 개개인의 소비 패턴과 행동 변화를 유도하는 것으로 환경관리 방향을 전환해갈 필요가 있을 것이다. Ecological Footprint (EF) in Korea has increased steeply over the past 50 years and, thus, the overshoot. It has been known that the main causes of the overshoot are population growth and the increase of the consumption intensity per person. In this study, the EF trend in Korea is analyzed for the past 50 years and it is found the major cause of the rapid increase of EF in Korea is the increase of the consumption intensity per person. Among the sectors of the consumption, Carbon Footprint (CF) from the energy consumption and Grazing Land Footprint and Fishing Grounds Footprint from the protein consumption are the major players for the increase. It is also found that if current trend of the EF per person would be maintained until 2060, EF in Korea would be expected to increase also continuously, despite of the decrease of the population from 2031. Therefore, the direction of the environmental management should be considered for inducing the change of the individual consumption patterns and the behavioral changes.

Africa has diverse ecosystems and abundant natural resources crucial for its growth and development. Unsustainable use of natural resources can increase the ecological footprint and lead to environmental deterioration on the continent. Several factors influence ecological footprint – a proxy for environmental degradation. However, literature on the determinants of ecological footprint in Africa is mixed and without any evidence on the effect on different quantiles/groups. Therefore, this paper explored the impact of agricultural production, renewable energy, rule of law, natural resource dependence and foreign investments on ecological footprint in Africa controlling for economic growth. We used data from 44 countries in Africa spanning a period of 21 years (2000–2020) and applied fixed effects and method of moment quantile regression models for analysis. Our findings show that GDP per capita, livestock production and foreign direct investments had significant positive association with ecological footprint for most of the quantiles. In contrast, renewable energy consumption, crop production index, rule of law, urbanisation and natural resource rents all reduced ecological footprint in Africa for most of the quantiles. Continuous law enforcement in Africa combined with investment in renewable energy, sustainable crop production practices and sustainable management of natural resources would reduce the continent’s ecological footprint and environmental degradation.

The complex relationship between institutional quality and ecological footprint (ECF) has been verified in prior literature; however, the subject is still inadequately explored and often disregarded to highlight areas where specific policy tensions exist. Therefore, this study aims to delve into the significance of institutional quality on ECF through a limited information maximum likelihood (LIML) panel analysis in the G20 countries from 2000 to 2022. For a precise evaluation, the study innovatively constructs a composite institutional quality index (IQI) and three indices under the accountability, transparency, and participation dimensions. Additionally, the study develops an economic uncertainty predictor to capture the effects of external economic shocks on the subject. The results obtained from the LIML estimation demonstrate that IQI is substantive in reducing ECF in the recipient panel. Further, the findings highlight that all three dimensions of IQI are significant in abating ECF, while the transparency index yields a higher influence on abating ECF. It is also observed that IQI plays an effective role in modulating the relationships between ECF, financial development, human development, growth, and energy consumption, while it is found to be insignificant in reducing the negative effects of globalization on ECF. Finally, the results indicate that IQI is highly influential in eliminating the adverse impact of external shocks on ECF. The results are robust and have specific policy implications.

The ecological footprint is an important measure in calculating the human demands and impacts on our global environment. In this respect the ecological footprint is a function of all the parameters that interact between the power of ecosystem productivity and human interactions and activities on a particular ecosystem or the demand from that ecosystem. The present paper will cover and analyze the ecosystems productivity and the human demand from the ecosystems. It will produce comprehensive analyses in measuring the possibility of capabilities of the ecosystems to provide goods and services to the human beings on our planet Earth. Further, the paper will discuss the models that can be used in measuring the sustainability of ecosystem and what we should be doing to maintain the Earth healthy ecosystems. In this respect, the paper will assess and introduce a comprehensive model that can describe the status of our ecosystems productivities and the impacts of human population on the plant Earth. Furthermore, the paper will provide some answers to the human issues, further warning to the current trend in use and abuse of our natural ecosystems and what will be expecting from these ecosystems to provide the human needs in response to the current use of our global ecosystems. Finally, it will conclude and setup several recommendations to save our Planet Earth from the irreversible impacts of human beings on the ecosystems and our global environment.

The main objective of this paper is to apply Ecological Footprint methodology as a tool to analyze the Portuguese textile industry. This analysis is related to energy and resources consumption in dyeing, printing and finishing processes. It also includes identification of mitigation measures to increase energy efficiency, promoting at the same time the reduction of CO2 emissions and consequently the decrease in industry’s Ecological Footprint. Moreover, the analysis presents the Ecological Footprint reduction potential for each mitigation option proposed for an important textile facility located in the North Region of Portugal, used as a case study in this work. The results for the case study showed that the total Ecological Footprint accounted, for the year 2016, summed up to 4890 gha. Furthermore, the energy category corresponds to more than 50% of the total Ecological Footprint estimation, and natural gas was the most required fuel for the processes. The calculation of the Ecological Footprint in the textile facilities can be used as a tool to analyze the processes’ energy efficiency and to quantify the global impact of the implementation of mitigation measures in the energy field. The result is an indicator shown in a common unit, gha (global hectare) and it can be easily used to compare energy-intensive processes and industrial sectors. In addition, it can be used to analyze how each sector can impact the country’s total demand for resources.

PurposeThis paper investigates the (a)symmetric effects of financial development in the presence of economic growth, energy consumption, urbanization and foreign direct investment on environmental quality of South Africa between 1980 and 2017.Design/methodology/approachA robust measure of financial development is generated using banking institutions and non-banking institutions market-based financial development indicators, while environmental quality is measured using carbon footprint, non-carbon footprint and ecological footprint. The objectives of the study are captured using linear and non-linear autoregressive distributed lag.FindingsThe result from the symmetric analysis suggests that financial development stimulates carbon footprint and ecological footprint in the short run; however, financial development abates non-carbon footprint. In the long run, financial development has a significant negative effect on carbon footprint and ecological footprint. However, the asymmetric analysis established strong asymmetric effect in the short run, while no asymmetric effect is found in the long run. The short run asymmetric analysis reveals that positive shock in financial development increases carbon footprint and ecological footprint; however, positive changes in financial development reduce non-carbon footprint. Negative shocks in financial development, on the other hand, have a positive impact carbon footprint, non-carbon footprint and ecological footprint.Practical implicationsThe study's outcome implies that the concept of “more finance, more growth” could also be applied to “more finance, better environment” in South Africa. The study offers vital policy suggestions for the realization of sustainable development in South Africa.Originality/valueThis empiric adds to the body of knowledge on the influence of financial development on various components of environmental quality (carbon footprint, non-carbon footprint and ecological footprint) in South Africa.

This study investigates whether green growth and ecological footprint mitigation can go hand in hand, focusing on 17 emerging economies over the period 2003–2021. Using augmented mean group (AMG) and three-stage least squares (3SLS) estimators for robustness, the empirical results reveal that energy consumption in the industry, transport, and residential sectors hinders green growth − 1.639, − 2.272, and − 0.699, respectively, while fostering the ecological footprint. Conversely, green technology innovation (0.738) and greenfield investments (0.335) promote green growth, while simultaneously reducing the ecological footprint. Additionally, the detrimental impact of sectoral energy consumption on green growth and the ecological footprint reduces when the share of renewable energy use surpasses the threshold level. These results indicate that green growth and ecological footprint can go hand in hand if renewable energy use is adequately integrated into the energy mix. Furthermore, the government should encourage green technology innovation and greenfield investment to achieve better green growth and mitigate the ecological footprint in the long run.

This research analyze the multifaceted influences on environmental sustainability in five ASEAN countries. We employ the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework to analyze the relationships between ecological footprint (dependent variable) and tourism arrivals, geopolitical risk, renewable energy consumption, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and GDP squared. The EKC theory asserts that an inverted U‐shaped correlation between GDP and environmental deterioration (this paper ecological footprint is the proxy). The study expect tourism arrivals, geopolitical risk, and renewable energy consumption is expected to have a reductive influence on environmental footprint, signifying their potential to contribute to environmental sustainability. The empirical outcomes confirm the of an EKC in ASEAN countries. Initially, rising GDP increases the ecological footprint, reflecting the environmental pressures driven by development. However, this trend reverses at a certain point, suggesting that further economic development or GDP squared can lead to a decline in the ecological footprint as countries prioritize environmental protection and adopt cleaner technologies. Additionally, tourists' arrivals negatively impact the ecological footprint, potentially due to increased awareness and implementation of sustainable tourism practices. Geopolitical risk also demonstrates a negative association with the environmental footprint. Finally, renewable energy consumption negatively influences ecological footprint, highlighting its role in diminishing environmental degradation. Overall, the findings emphasize the importance of promoting sustainable tourism activities, fostering renewable energy adoption, and implementing targeted environmental policies alongside green economic growth strategies.

Addressing the ecological footprint is crucial for achieving sustainable development in South Asia, where the rapid economic and social developments present substantial challenges to the environment. This study aims to examine the effects of remittances, urbanization and electricity consumption on South Asia's ecological footprint, with a focus on the role of globalization. By employing a Panel ARDL framework on data spanning 2000 to 2021, we investigate the long-term and short-term dynamics of the variables. Additionally, we implement the Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) technique, which illustrated the independent variables' specific effects on the ecological footprint at various quantiles. Before utilizing these regression techniques, we conduct a set of diagnostic tests such as Cross‐Sectional Dependence Test, Unit root tests (LLC, IPS, CIPS, CADF) and panel cointegration test. According to the findings of our study, remittances have a reducing effect on the ecological footprint, while GDP per capita and urbanization considerably increase it. Electricity consumption has a smaller but still significant impact on environmental degradation. Globalization exhibits an intricate correlation, encompassing both advantageous and detrimental impacts on the ecological footprint. The Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test's findings revealed a unidirectional causality from remittances and urbanization to the ecological footprint and bidirectional causality between electricity consumption and the ecological footprint. The study proposes implementing policy measures that encourage green economic strategies, prioritize the promotion of sustainable urban practices, enhancement of energy efficiency, utilization of the advantages of globalization for the environment, and efficient management of remittances to reduce ecological strain.

There are two strategies for engineering species for conservation purposes, de-extinction and gene drives. Engineering species for conservation purposes is not in principle wrong, and on common criteria for assessing conservation interventions there may well be cases in which de-extinction and gene drives are evaluated positively in comparison to other possible strategies. De-extinction is not as transformative a conservation technique as it initially appears. It is largely dependent, as a conservation activity, upon traditional conservation practices, such as captive breeding programs, species reintroductions, and habitat improvement and protection. In contrast, gene drives have the potential to significantly restructure how conservation problems are framed and approached. Gene drives are therefore a much more disruptive technology for conservation philosophy and practice.