RAS question
The concept of 'ecological footprint' was developed by:
Correct answer: (C) William Rees and Mathis Wackernagel.
The ecological footprint concept was developed by William Rees and Mathis Wackernagel in the early 1990s.
Explanation
Ecological footprint is a sustainability accounting idea developed by William Rees and Mathis Wackernagel in the early 1990s. The cited World Bank blog identifies Rees as the ecologist who, together with Wackernagel, developed the concept and method of ecological footprint analysis. The method is important because it expresses human demand on nature in concrete ecological terms: the biologically productive land and water needed to produce the resources a population consumes and to absorb the waste it generates. That is why the answer is not simply about environmental writing or biodiversity theory; it is about a specific measurement framework for resource use and ecological limits.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Norman Myers is associated with the biodiversity hotspot concept, not with developing ecological footprint analysis.
- (B) Rachel Carson is known for Silent Spring and its critique of pesticide impacts, not for the ecological footprint framework.
- (D) E.O. Wilson is linked to biodiversity concepts, whereas ecological footprint analysis is attributed to William Rees and Mathis Wackernagel.
Concept
This tests the Environment and Ecology syllabus area on sustainability indicators and ecological limits. It recurs in RAS because ecological footprint connects resource consumption, waste absorption and development debates in one measurable framework.