Dynamic analysis on Ecological Footprint and Water Footprint of Honghu City,Hubei Province,China

Based on the ecological footprint method and theory,ecological footprint(EF) per capita and ecological capacity(EC) per capita of Honghu City,Hubei Province from 2000 to 2007 are calculated to evaluate the ecological sustainable development of the city.In the meantime,the water footprint of the city is analyzed by using water footprint approach.The results show that EF per capita of Honghu City exhibited an ascending trend from 2000 to 2007,from 1.4508 hm2 in 2000 to 2.0223 hm2 in 2007,increasing nearly forty percent.Among the structural components,the ecological footprints of energy and farm gave the greatest contributions to the per capita ecological footprint of Honghu City.The change in EC during 2000 and 2007 was not significant and showed a little descending trend.Honghu City was always in ecological deficit(ED) during the eight years,ED increased gradually with the continuous increase of the per capita EF and the ED in 2007 was 1.3731 hm2 per capita,which resulted in the unsustainable development.The results indicate that the human load that has already stayed beyond the regional ecological capacity and the regional natural ecosystem is under great pressure of human activities.The water footprint didn't change much during this time and that in 2007 was 1399m3 per capita,which was higher than the mean level of China.It means that Honghu City belongs to the domestic rich-water city.