Sustainability and the value of the ‘regulating’ services: Wetlands and water quality in Lake Victoria

The regulating services provided by ecosystems are amongst the most important for the sustainability of resource use, and yet they are also amongst the least understood. This paper considers one set of regulating mechanisms - the buffering functions of wetlands - and considers the information needed to identify both the value of the services offered by wetlands, and their substitutes. Using data from a catchment discharging water and nutrients to the Kenyan segment of Lake Victoria, the Yala catchment, the paper models the interactions between agriculture and fisheries as mediated by wetlands at the lake margin. More particularly, it estimates the value of the forgone nutrient retention function involved in the conversion of the wetland to agriculture, and the scope for providing the same services through land use change elsewhere in the catchment. The total cost of the payments that would compensate farmers for on-farm nutrient buffering services is 3.86 M US$ year^− 1, or 35% of the total gains from wetland conversion to crop production. This finding contributes to an understanding of both the value of regulating services and how they might most effectively be delivered in alternative ways.     

The future of farming: The value of ecosystem services in conventional and organic arable land. An experimental approach

In the current work, a novel, experimental ‘bottom-up’ approach is used to quantify the economic value of ecosystem services (ES) associated with highly modified arable landscapes in Canterbury, New Zealand. First, the role of land management practices in the maintenance and enhancement of ES in agricultural land was investigated by quantifying the economic value of ES at the field level under organic and conventional arable systems. This quantification was based on an experimental approach in contrast with earlier value transfer methods. Total economic value of ES in organic fields ranged from US $1610 to US $19,420 ha^− 1 yr^− 1 and that of conventional fields from US $1270 to US $14,570 ha^− 1 yr^− 1. The non-market value of ES in organic fields ranged from US $460 to US $5240 ha^− 1 yr^− 1. The range of non-market values of ES in conventional fields was US $50 — 1240 ha^− 1 yr^− 1. There were significant differences between organic and conventional fields for the economic values of some ES. Next, this economic information was used to extrapolate and to calculate the total and non-market value of ES in Canterbury arable land. The total annual economic and non-market values of ES for the conventional arable area in Canterbury (125,000 ha) were US $332 million and US $71 million, respectively. If half the arable area under conventional farming shifted to organic practices, the total economic value of ES would be US $192 million and US $166 million annually for organic and conventional arable area, respectively. In this case, the non-market value of ES for the organic area was US $65 million and that of conventional area was US $35 million annually. This study demonstrated that arable farming provides a range of ES which can be measured using field experiments based on ecological principles by incorporating a ‘bottom-up’ approach. The work also showed that conventional New Zealand arable farming practices can severely reduce the financial contribution of some of these services in agriculture whereas organic agricultural practices enhance their economic value.     

Assessment of net ecosystem services of plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation in China

Plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation is rapidly expanding in China and elsewhere worldwide. In order to comprehensively understand the impacts of plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation on agricultural ecosystem services and dis-services, we developed an assessment framework for the net ecosystem services and used China as a case study. Our results showed that, compared to conventional vegetable cultivation, plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation has higher fresh vegetable production, greater CO₂ fixation (3.61 t CO₂ ha^− 1 yr^− 1), better soil retention (23.1 t ha^− 1 yr^− 1), and requires less irrigation (2132 m³ water ha^− 1 yr^− 1), maintains similar soil fertility, but also has higher NO₃⁻ accumulation and N₂O emissions. In 2004, plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation in China provided an overall net economic benefit of 67,956 yuan ha^-1 yr^− 1 (8.28 yuan = 1 USD in 2004), where 68,240 yuan ha^− 1 yr^− 1 represented ecosystem services and 284 yuan ha^− 1 yr^− 1 for dis-services. The transition from conventional vegetable cultivation to plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation resulted in a net economic benefit of 24,248 yuan ha^− 1 yr^− 1. A cost-benefit analysis suggests that plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation in China has the potential to optimize social benefits in addition to increasing annual economic income to farmers directly.     

Long-term global water projections using six socioeconomic scenarios in an integrated assessment modeling framework

In this paper, we assess future water demands for the agricultural (irrigation and livestock), energy (electricity generation, primary energy production and processing), industrial (manufacturing and mining), and municipal sectors, by incorporating water demands into a technologically-detailed global integrated assessment model of energy, agriculture, and climate change — the Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM). Base-year water demands – both gross withdrawals and net consumptive use – are assigned to specific modeled activities in a way that maximizes consistency between bottom-up estimates of water demand intensities of specific technologies and practices, and top-down regional and sectoral estimates of water use. The energy, industrial, and municipal sectors are represented in fourteen geopolitical regions, with the agricultural sector further disaggregated into as many as eighteen agro-ecological zones (AEZs) within each region. We assess future water demands representing six socioeconomic scenarios, with no constraints imposed by future water supplies. The scenarios observe increases in global water withdrawals from 3710 km³ year^− 1 in 2005 to 6195–8690 km³ year^− 1 in 2050, and to 4869–12,693 km³ year^− 1 in 2095. Comparing the projected total regional water withdrawals to the historical supply of renewable freshwater, the Middle East exhibits the highest levels of water scarcity throughout the century, followed by India; water scarcity increases over time in both of these regions. In contrast, water scarcity improves in some regions with large base-year electric sector withdrawals, such as the USA and Canada, due to capital stock turnover and the almost complete phase-out of once-through flow cooling systems. The scenarios indicate that: 1) water is likely a limiting factor in meeting future water demands, 2) many regions can be expected to increase reliance on non-renewable groundwater, water reuse, and desalinated water, but they also highlight an important role for development and deployment of water conservation technologies and practices.     

The blue, green and grey water footprint of rice from production and consumption perspectives

The paper makes a global assessment of the green, blue and grey water footprint of rice, using a higher spatial resolution and local data on actual irrigation. The national water footprint of rice production and consumption is estimated using international trade and domestic production data. The global water footprint of rice production is 784 km³/year with an average of 1325 m³/t which is 48% green, 44% blue, and 8% grey. There is also 1025 m³/t of percolation in rice production. The ratio of green to blue water varies greatly over time and space. In India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and the Philippines, the green water fraction is substantially larger than the blue one, whereas in the USA and Pakistan the blue water footprint is 4 times more than the green component. The virtual water flows related to international rice trade was 31 km³/year. The consumption of rice products in the EU27 is responsible for the annual evaporation of 2279 Mm³ of water and polluted return flows of 178 Mm³ around the globe, mainly in India, Thailand, the USA and Pakistan. The water footprint of rice consumption creates relatively low stress on the water resources in India compared to that in the USA and Pakistan.     

Analyses of water footprint of Beijing in an interregional input-output framework

Beijing is under severe water resource pressure due to the rapid economic development and growing population. This study quantitatively evaluates the water footprint of Beijing in an interregional input-output framework with a focus on blue water resources and uses. The inter-connections of water resources between Beijing and other provinces are analyzed with a sectoral specification. The results show that the total water footprint of Beijing is 4498.4 10⁶ m³/year, of which 51% is from the external water footprint acquired through virtual water import. Agriculture has the highest water footprint of 1524.5 10⁶ m³/year with 56% coming from external sources. The main virtual water provider for Beijing is Hebei, another water scarce region, from which Beijing receives virtual water of 373.3 10⁶ m³/year with 40% from agriculture. The results of this study suggest that the interregional trade coordination, especially for the main sectors with high water use intensity, is important for enhancing the efficiency of regional and national water resource utilization.     

Substitution between water and other agricultural inputs: Implications for water conservation in a River Basin context

Substitution of irrigation water with other agricultural inputs could be an important means to conserve water in the face of growing pressures on water resources from both nonagricultural water demands and environmental water requirements. This paper discusses the potential of such substitution through an empirical analysis based on a multiple-input crop production function at the field and farm scales complemented with a numerical modeling exercise at the basin scale. Results from the crop production function analysis show that under both crop yield and net profit maximization, water is a substitute to other crop inputs for high-value crops, and is a complement to water for low-valued crops. At the basin scale, an integrated economic-hydrologic river basin model is used to analyze the role of other factors in crop input substitution, including the spatial connections among water sources and demands, hydro-agronomic conditions, and institutional settings for water allocation. Results show that in the case study area, the Maipo River basin in Chile, where water is very scarce, moving from the current, input-constrained, situation to full optimization of water resources leads to an increase in all crop inputs, including water. In that case, 301 million m³ of additional water use results in additional net profits of USD 11 million. However, if the water fee is raised by a factor of eight while overall basin irrigation profits are maintained at the original, baseline level, a reduction of water withdrawals by 326 million m³ is traded off with costs of USD 43.2 million for other inputs. Irrigation districts with a high share of low-value crops have a low potential for substituting water with other crop inputs. Therefore, investments for water substitution should also be kept low in these areas.     

To settle or protect? A global analysis of net primary production in parks and urban areas

We test—at the global scale—the hypothesis that human beings tend to build settlements in areas of high biological productivity, and protect (as parks) areas of low productivity. Furthermore, we propose an alternative measure of the extent and effectiveness of the global protected areas network based on potential net primary production (NPP₀). The average NPP₀ in urban areas and parks is calculated and compared to the average NPP₀ of the geopolitical regions and biomes containing these areas. Additionally, human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) in parks is used as an indicator of the effectiveness of these protected areas. We find that in almost all regions of the world, humans have chosen to settle in the most productive areas. At the global scale, urban areas have considerably higher NPP₀ (592 g Cm^− 2 yr^− 1) than the global average (494 g Cm^− 2 yr^− 1), while parks have roughly average NPP₀ (490 g Cm^− 2 yr^− 1). Parks with an IUCN category of I-VI account for 9.5% of the planet's terrestrial NPP₀, compared to 9.6% of its terrestrial area. Although protected area and protected NPP₀ are nearly equal, this equivalence is diminished by HANPP within parks. Globally, the average HANPP in all protected areas is 14% of their NPP₀, and HANPP within parks increases as the park management category becomes less restrictive. Moreover, we find a positive correlation between HANPP in parks and the extent of urbanization in the surrounding region and biome. Area-based targets for conservation provide no information on either the quality of the areas we choose to protect, or the effectiveness of that protection. We conclude that NPP₀ and HANPP may provide an additional, useful tool for assessing the extent and effectiveness of the global protected areas network.     

Climate change impacts on irrigation water requirements: Effects of mitigation, 1990–2080

Potential changes in global and regional agricultural water demand for irrigation were investigated within a new socio-economic scenario, A2r, developed at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) with and without climate change, with and without mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. Water deficits of crops were developed with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)–IIASA Agro-ecological Zone model, based on daily water balances at 0.5° latitude × 0.5° longitude and then aggregated to regions and the globe. Future regional and global irrigation water requirements were computed as a function of both projected irrigated land and climate change and simulations were performed from 1990 to 2080. Future trends for extents of irrigated land, irrigation water use, and withdrawals were computed, with specific attention given to the implications of climate change mitigation. Renewable water-resource availability was estimated under current and future climate conditions. Results suggest that mitigation of climate change may have significant positive effects compared with unmitigated climate change. Specifically, mitigation reduced the impacts of climate change on agricultural water requirements by about 40%, or 125–160 billion m³ (Gm³) compared with unmitigated climate. Simple estimates of future changes in irrigation efficiency and water costs suggest that by 2080 mitigation may translate into annual cost reductions of about 10 billion US$.     

Valuing ecosystem goods and services: a new approach using a surrogate market and the combination of a multiple criteria analysis and a Delphi panel to assign weights to the attributes

A new approach to valuing ecosystem goods and services (EGS) is described which incorporates components of the economic theory of value, the theory of valuation (USappraisal), a multi-model multiple criteria analysis (MCA) of ecosystem attributes, and a Delphi panel of experts to assign weights to the attributes. The total value of ecosystem goods and services in the various tenure categories in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area (WTWHA) in Australia was found to be in the range AUD$188 to $211 million year⁻¹, or AUD$210 to 236 ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ across tenures, as at 30 June 2002. Application of the weightings assigned by the Delphi panelists and assessment of the ecological integrity of the various tenure categories resulted in values being derived for individual ecosystem services in the World Heritage Area. Biodiversity and refugia were the two attributes ranked most highly at AUD$18.6 to $20.9 million year⁻¹ and AUD$16.6 to $18.2 million year⁻¹, respectively.     

The economic impacts of river rehabilitation: A regional Input-Output analysis

We developed a model to predict the impacts of river rehabilitation activities on the local economy. The model is based on the Input-Output analysis technique and was applied to the planned rehabilitation project for the River Thur in northern Switzerland, along the 4 km stretch between the communities of Bürglen and Weinfelden. We estimated changes in local employment and local economic output resulting from government spending on rehabilitation, associated changes in adjacent land use, and increased recreational activity. Accounting for land use changes required a modification of the conventional Input-Output analysis technique which should be of general interest. We accounted for uncertainty in the data and in some of the model assumptions by using a probabilistic formulation and propagating uncertainty through the model equations. As time-consuming local surveys were beyond the scope of this study, we used the Location Quotient non-survey technique to construct the local technical coefficients from national data and local employment data. This implies that the model can be applied quite easily to a different study area in Switzerland as long as local employment data are available. For each CHF 1 million expenditure per year on rehabilitation activities in our study region, we estimate an extra 8 fulltime employment equivalents (standard deviation, σ = 0.4 fte) and an increased output of CHF 1.4 million (σ = CHF 0.05 million). The low uncertainty of these estimates can be partly attributed to the structure of Input-Output analysis and partly to the fact that we estimated changes in the economic output, rather than output itself. In addition to the above impacts, we estimate that increased recreational use of the area will increase output by as much as CHF 0.17 million (σ = CHF 0.12 million) and employment by as much as 1.7 fulltime employment equivalents (σ = 1.3 fte), depending on the specific rehabilitation option selected.     

The water footprints of Morocco and the Netherlands: Global water use as a result of domestic consumption of agricultural commodities

The volume of international trade in agricultural commodities is increasing faster than the global volume of production, which is an indicator of growing international dependencies in the area of food supply. Although less obvious, it also implies growing international dependencies in the field of water supply. By importing food, countries also import water in virtual form. The aim of the paper is to assess the water footprints of Morocco, a semi-arid/arid country, and the Netherlands, a humid country. The water footprint of a country is defined as the volume of water used for the production of the goods and services consumed by the inhabitants of the country. The internal water footprint is the volume of water used from domestic water resources; the external water footprint is the volume of water used in other countries to produce goods and services imported and consumed by the inhabitants of the country. The study shows that both Morocco and the Netherlands import more water in virtual form (in the form of water-intensive agricultural commodities) than they export, which makes them dependent on water resources elsewhere in the world. The water footprint calculations show that Morocco depends for 14% on water resources outside its own borders, while the Netherlands depend on foreign water resources for 95%. It is shown that international trade can result in global water saving when a water-intensive commodity is traded from an area where it is produced with high water productivity to an area with lower water productivity. If Morocco had to domestically produce the products that are now imported from the Netherlands, it would require 780 million m³/year. However, the imported products from the Netherlands were actually produced with only 140 million m³/year, which implies a global water saving of 640 million m³/year.     

Water flows,energy demand,and market analysis of the informal water sector in Kisumu,Kenya

In rapidly growing urban areas of developing countries, infrastructure has not been able to cope with population growth. Informal water businesses fulfill unmet water supply needs, yet little is understood about this sector. This paper presents data gathered from quantitative interviews with informal water business operators (n = 260) in Kisumu, Kenya, collected during the dry season. Sales volume, location, resource use, and cost were analyzed by using material flow accounting and spatial analysis tools. Estimates show that over 76% of the city's water is consumed by less than 10% of the population who have water piped into their dwellings. The remainder of the population relies on a combination of water sources, including water purchased directly from kiosks (1.5 million m³ per day) and delivered by hand-drawn water-carts (0.75 million m³ per day). Energy audits were performed to compare energy use among various water sources in the city. Water delivery by truck is the highest per cubic meter energy demand (35 MJ/m³), while the city's tap water has the highest energy use overall (21,000 MJ/day). We group kiosks by neighborhood and compare sales volume and cost with neighborhood-level population data. Contrary to popular belief, we do not find evidence of price gouging; the lowest prices are charged in the highest-demand low-income area. We also see that the informal sector is sensitive to demand, as the number of private boreholes that serve as community water collection points are much larger where demand is greatest.     

Economic implications of maintaining rangeland ecosystem health in a semi-arid savanna

A simulation model was used to determine the ecological and economic consequences of managing stocking rate on semi-arid savanna rangeland continuously stocked with livestock to achieve the alternate management goals: (1) maintaining current range condition, (2) maximizing profit, or (3) improving range condition over a 30-year time frame. We developed values for end of the year herbaceous standing crop and utilization required to attain these management goals for rangeland in poor to excellent condition. Based on extensive field research conducted in this region over 5 decades, range condition in this model is programmed to decline in response to three factors: excessive grazing pressure, below average precipitation, and an increase in woody plants. Earning capacity is four times higher for range in excellent condition than that in poor condition. For all initial range condition (RC) values, simulated stocking rates that maintained RC resulted in simulated mean weaning weights 93-94% of maximum. Maximum short-term and long-term profit is attained at higher stocking rates than would maintain long-term range condition and at much higher levels than would increase range condition levels. When stocked for maximum profit, individual animal performance was 90% of maximum. The model predicts that low stocking rates allow range condition to improve. At these recovery stocking rates, total 30-year profits were found to be 78%-87% of the stocking rates that would maintain range condition, and only 67%-75% of stocking rates that would maximize profit. Predictions of the end of year standing crop to maintain range condition were in broad agreement with the 1000 kg ha^− 1 advised for this region. To improve range condition, the model predicts that an end of year standing crop of 1500-2000 kg ha^− 1 is required, compared to the generally advised level of 1200-1500 kg ha^− 1. The predicted end of year forage standing crops for the maximum profit goal are well below the advised 800 kg ha^− 1 threshold required to prevent degradation for all of the initial range conditions that were simulated. To ensure maintenance of range in excellent condition, our results concur with the advised utilization levels of 20-25%. However, for range in poorer than excellent condition, the model predicted much lower utilization levels were needed to maintain or improve range condition.     

The water footprint of energy from biomass: A quantitative assessment and consequences of an increasing share of bio-energy in energy supply

This paper assesses the water footprint (WF) of different primary energy carriers derived from biomass expressed as the amount of water consumed to produce a unit of energy (m³/GJ). The paper observes large differences among the WFs for specific types of primary bio-energy carriers. The WF depends on crop type, agricultural production system and climate. The WF of average bio-energy carriers grown in the Netherlands is 24 m³/GJ, in the US 58 m³/GJ, in Brazil 61 m³/GJ, and in Zimbabwe 143 m³/GJ. The WF of bio-energy is much larger than the WF of fossil energy. For the fossil energy carriers, the WF increases in the following order: uranium (0.1 m³/GJ), natural gas (0.1 m³/GJ), coal (0.2 m³/GJ), and finally crude oil (1.1 m³/GJ). Renewable energy carriers show large differences in their WF. The WF for wind energy is negligible, for solar thermal energy 0.3 m³/GJ, but for hydropower 22 m³/GJ. Based on the average per capita energy use in western societies (100 GJ/capita/year), a mix from coal, crude oil, natural gas and uranium requires about 35 m³/capita/year. If the same amount of energy is generated through the growth of biomass in a high productive agricultural system, as applied in the Netherlands, the WF is 2420 m³. The WF of biomass is 70 to 400 times larger than the WF of the other primary energy carriers (excluding hydropower). The trend towards larger energy use in combination with an increasing contribution of energy from biomass will enlarge the need for fresh water. This causes competition with other claims, such as water for food.     

Integrating environmental and economic performance to assess modern silvoarable agroforestry in Europe

The environmental and economic performance of silvoarable agroforestry in Europe is highly variable. Multi-criteria analysis, using the PROMETHEE outranking approach, was used to evaluate the integrated performance of silvoarable agroforestry on hypothetical farms in nineteen landscape test sites in Spain, France, and The Netherlands. The silvoarable scenarios allocated a proportion of the hypothetical farms (10 or 50%) to silvoarable agroforestry at two different tree densities (50 or 113 trees ha^− 1) on two different qualities of land (best or worst quality land). The status quo (conventional arable farming) was also assessed for comparison. The criteria used in the evaluation (soil erosion, nitrogen leaching, carbon sequestration, landscape biodiversity, and infinite net present value) were assessed at each landscape test site; infinite net present value was assessed under six levels of government support. In France, the analysis showed, assuming equal weighting between environmental and economic performance, that silvoarable agroforestry was preferable to conventional arable farming. The best results were observed when agroforestry was implemented on 50% of the highest quality land on the farm; the effect of tree density (50-113 trees ha^− 1) was small. By contrast, in Spain and The Netherlands, the consistently greater profitability of conventional arable agriculture relative to the agroforestry alternatives made overall performance of agroforestry systems dependent on the proportion of the farm planted, and the tree density and land quality used.     

The social value of carbon sequestered in Great Britain's woodlands

The economic value of carbon storage associated with British woodland is calculated. Models were developed to estimate C flux associated with live trees, forest floor litter, soils, wood products, harvest, fossil fuel used in manufacturing and C displacement from biofuels and products for representative British plantation species: Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) and beech (Fagus sylvatica). Map databases of publicly and privately owned woodlands were compiled for Great Britain. Carbon flux was determined for individual woodland sites, and monetised using candidate parameters for the social discount rate (1, 3, 3.5 or 5%) and social value of carbon (US$109.5, $1, $10 or $17.10/t). A conventional discount function was applied. Final results are expressed as Net Present Values, for the base year 2001, with discounting commencing in 2002. The minimum suggested NPV (discount rate = 3% and social value of carbon = $1) of GB woodlands already existing in 2001 is $82 million, with a further $72 million that might be added by future afforestation. These figures rise dramatically if a discount rate of 1% and social value of sequestered carbon = $109.5/t are assumed. The calculated total value of C stored in British woodland depends significantly on parameter assumptions, especially about appropriate discount rate and social value of sequestered carbon.     

Economics of charcoal production in miombo woodlands of eastern Tanzania: some hidden costs associated with commercialization of the resources

This paper assigns monetary values to commercial production of charcoal (using traditional earth kilns) in the miombo woodlands surrounding Kitulanghalo Forest Reserve in eastern Tanzania, through cost–benefit analysis (CBA). Charcoal is the most commercialised resource in the study area and the net present value (NPV) for the charcoal business over a 15-year period was US$ 511 ha⁻¹. The profit from charcoal production is attributable to very low capital outlays, ‘free’ own labour, ‘free’ raw materials, lack of concern about associated external costs and high demand for charcoal. When the cost of labour, raw materials and opportunity costs were considered, the NPV value was negative (US$ −868 ha⁻¹), indicating that profit realization is accomplished at the expense of other potential uses of the woodlands. The estimated local wood consumption for charcoal of 6.01 m³ capita⁻¹ year⁻¹ is very high compared to subsistence firewood consumption of 1.5 m³ capita⁻¹ year⁻¹. The estimated area cleared for charcoal production locally was 1671 ha year⁻¹, which was about 13% of surrounding easily accessible communal woodlands in the area (<5 km from settlements and <10 km from the Dar-es-Salaam–Morogoro highway), which were estimated to cover 13 350 ha. This shows that although commercialisation of wood resources provides tangible monetary benefits to rural communities, it also contributes to the resource depletion that will ultimately threaten their long-term survival. We recommend some policy interventions in order to safeguard the resources.     

The social acceptability and valuation of recycled water in Crete: A study of consumers' and farmers' attitudes

This paper investigates the Willingness to Use (WTU) and Willingness to Pay (WTP) for recycled water in agriculture. We report results from surveys of farmers and consumers on the island of Crete, Greece. Crete is suffering from an increasingly severe water shortage coupled with declining groundwater supplies, therefore the wider use of recycled water is an important policy priority. We have investigated WTU and WTP for two crops with two different levels of water treatment. The mean WTP for 1 cm³ of recycled water was 0.15€ for the irrigation of both olive trees and tomato crops, namely 55% of the fresh water price. The mean WTP for olive oil produced from olive trees irrigated with recycled water was 2.65€, namely 88% of its current market price. We have found that both attitudinal factors, such as environmental awareness and economic factors, such as freshwater prices and incomes, are significant in explaining the WTU and WTP for recycled water and products produced using it, but that important differences exist between farmers and consumers.     

Ecological footprint accounting in the life cycle assessment of products

We present and discuss ecological footprint (EF) calculations for a large number of products and services consumed in the western economy. Product-specific EFs were calculated from consistent and quality-controlled life cycle information of 2630 products and services, including energy, materials, transport, waste treatment and infrastructural processes. We formed 19 homogeneous product/process subgroups for further analysis, containing in total 1549 processes. Per group, the average contribution of two types of land occupation (direct and energy related) to the total EF was derived. It was found that the ecological footprint of the majority of products is dominated by the consumption of non-renewable energy. Notable exceptions are the EFs of biomass energy, hydro energy, paper and cardboard, and agricultural products with a relatively high contribution of direct land occupation. We also compared the ecological footprint results with the results of a commonly used life cycle impact assessment method, the Ecoindicator 99 (EI). It was found that the majority of the products have an EF/EI ratio of around 30 m²-eq. yr/ecopoint ± a factor of 5. The typical ratio reduces to 25 m² yr/ecopoints by excluding the arbitrary EF for nuclear energy demand. The relatively small variation of this ratio implies that the use of land and use of fossil fuels are important drivers of overall environmental impact. Ecological footprints may therefore serve as a screening indicator for environmental performance. However, our results also show that the usefulness of EF as a stand-alone indicator for environmental impact is limited for product life cycles with relative high mineral consumption and process-specific metal and dust emissions. For these products the EF/EI ratio can substantially deviate from the average value. Finally, we suggest that the ecological footprint product data provided in this paper can be used to improve the footprint estimates of production, import and export of products on a national scale and footprint estimates of various lifestyles.