The ecological footprint of Middle China in 2004

Ecological footprint closely relating to sustainable development theory is an ecological and economic index which can reflect the sustainable development level of a country or region quantitatively, and is a synthetic index relating to systemic, fairness, and sustainability which have many merits such as measurable consumption, rationality, and comparison et. Based on the concept of ecological footprint and its computer models, the paper analyzed the energy and resources consumption of Middle China. The calculation results showed that the per capita ecological footprint was 1.793 hm2, the ecological capacity 0.488 hm2 and the ecological deficit 1.305 hm2 in 2004, the ratio of ecological footprint's demand and supply was 3.677∶1; The ecological footprint's diversity is 1.336, the ecological footprint per unit of GDP is 1.982 hm2, and the ecological coordination quotiety is 1.227 et. As a result, it is considered that the ecological footprint is beyond the ecological capacity, regional development is unsustainable.