Research Agenda
The International Ecological Footprint Learning Lab connects academic, private, public, and non-profit institutions to devise a research agenda concentrated on quantifying human pressures on the environment through ecological footprint and biocapacity metrics. The partnership’s research agenda was developed collaboratively to reflect the partners’ interests, skills, and expertise. The partners will share findings and solutions through their channels, guided by a comprehensive knowledge mobilization plan.
Download the IEFLL Research Agenda
Research Areas
There are four main research areas in the agenda to categorize the topics – these are intended to be broad and overlapping
Research in this area will support the production of the National Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts (NEFBA). This will involve improving and innovating on the methodology for producing the accounts and deriving the data. Additionally, other applications of Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity data, methods, and research at national and international levels.
Research Topics
- Include wetlands (and/or other land cover types) as providing biocapacity in the NEFBA.
- Revise the average forest carbon sequestration rate in the NEFBA.
- Derive spatially explicit equivalence factors in the NEFBA.
This research area focuses on individuals and groups, aiming to understand how the data generated can be applied and communicated to produce useful outcomes. This applies to geographical communities and communities built around shared interests and values. Additionally, research in this area will investigate how Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity can be used to provide recommendations for insight into long-term behaviour change.
Research Topics
- Create a methodology blueprint of community-specific ecological footprint calculators.
- Investigate the most effective spatial analysis techniques to examine land-use change and ownership.
- Research how different types of land use and land ownership affect the ecological footprint and biocapacity ratio among countries.
Research in this area focuses on applying Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity across different geographical scales and exploring different scaling methodologies. This also involves applying Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity to different social aggregations and attributions. Additionally, research in this area is investigating the incorporation of geomatics data and earth observation data.
Research Topics
- Investigate the proportion of ecological footprint of consumption by tourists compared to residents within a country that has high tourism.
- Explore how remote sensing imagery and data can be incorporated into biocapacity methodology to improve the data and spatial resolution, particularly the built-up land component.
- Research the capacity of intensively managed ecosystems to provide specific ecosystem goods and services.
Research in this area will investigate applying Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity data to various modelling software and other international metrics. It will also examine the possibilities and constraints related to economics, sustainability, well-being, development, and sustainability goals, including net-zero emissions.
Research Topics
- Investigate how carbon footprint and ocean sequestration align with other global reporting metrics.
- Generate Ecological Footprint metrics that align with the System of Environmental and Economic Accounting (SEEA).
- Create a database of embodied Ecological Footprint for man-made materials.
Interested in adding to the research agenda?
If you are an IEFLL partner and have a research question you’d like added to the research agenda, please complete the template below.