L'impronta ecologica della Regione Marche

The research is based on the Ecological Footprint, an ecological accounting system that measures the ecological assets that a given population requires to produce the natural resources it consumes and to absorb its waste. Ecological Footprint is defined as the biologically productive area needed to provide for everything people use. The thesis is divided into three academic papers: in the first chapter the Ecological Footprint accounting method is introduced. The main studies about global, national and regional Ecological Footprint are examined. The first chapter also presents other sustainable development indicators and the main studies that criticise some Ecological Footprint's aspects and limits. In the second chapter the Ecological Footprint for the Marche Region is calculated and the results are presented. There is an in-depth analysis of the Ecological Footprint accounting method, with specific attention to the methodology on a regional level. All the aggregated and disaggregated results are reported for the years 2011 and 2001 for the Marche Region, with simulations of possible scenarios to evaluate potential benefits from a reduction in the Ecological Footprint values. In the third and last chapter the Ecological Footprints for all the regions of central Italy are calculated for the years 2011 and 2001. The main studies on Italian regional Ecological Footprints are introduced and all the aggregated and disaggregated results are reported for Marche, Lazio, Tuscany and Umbria. Specific attention is paid to a comparison between the results and the