During the last year several departments
of Ghent University (Belgium) - in cooperation
with the Belgian ngo VODO-have been working
on a research project on ecological debt.
The research was ordered by the Belgian
development cooperation and aimed at clarifying
the concept of ecological debt and studying
its applicability in Belgian and international
policy. It can be downloaded from the website
of the Centre for Sustainable Development
(Ghent University):
http://cdonet.rug.ac.be/onderzoek/ecological_debt/
The report counts about 230 pages and
is divided in five sections:
Part 1 first discusses the current state
of affairs on ecological debt. It then proposes
a working definition of ecological debt
which serves as a basis for developing a
methodology for calculation (based on material
flow analysis, environmental space and a
DPSIR framework for indicators). It also
discusses a scientific frame of reference
for ecological debt
Part 2 on Multilateral Environmental Agreements
(MEAs) discusses the status of ecological
debt in international environmental law
and obstacles and solutions for introducing
the concept in international law.
Part 3 and Part 4 apply the concept to
Belgium. Part 3 analyses energy consumption
and CO2 emissions in Belgium since 1830
and calculates Belgium's Carbon Debt. Part
4 analyses the development of the Belgian
livestock sector and looks at Belgium's
ecological debt through land use and ecological
damage in the livestock sector (1960-2000).
Main countries of production for fodder
crops for Belgium are Argentina, Brazil,
France, USA and Canada
Part 5 formulates policy implications for
dealing with two aspects of ecological debt,
i.e. accounting for historical responsibility
and avoiding daily accumulation of ecological
debt. The discussion includes climate policy
(implications for the post-Kyoto period)
and external
debt relief. This part also contains the
final conclusions.
The executive summary of the report (in
English and in Dutch) is also available,
as well as a Powerpoint presentation with
an overview of the main results.
Contact: Erik Paredis
(Centre for Sustainable Development-Ghent
University) -Erik.Paredis@UGent.be
