An ecological footprint analysis of the sustainable development of Suzhou in 2008

The ecological footprint analysis is a method used to measure the level of a city's sustainable development.According to the statistical data of Suzhou City in 2008,the ecological footprint and ecological carrying capacity were calculated and analyzed with this method defined by William Rees.Then the sustainable development of Suzhou was analyzed.The results show that ecological footprint deficit per capita was 4.541 2 hm2.It was far more than current ecological carrying capacity of Suzhou and the city was in an unsustainable development state.Compared with the results of 1998,it is found that the ecological footprint per ten thousand yuan GDP is declining although the ecological footprint is increasing.It indicates that the resources use efficiency in the city is gradually being improved.