Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Russia's Gold

Russia's total biocapacity reserve is second only to Brazil's. Unlike Brazil, however, Russia has been displaying a steady increase in its biocapacity reserve since 1992, according to the latest report on Russia's Ecological Footprint, which was jointly produced by Global Footprint Network and WWF-Russia and is now available in English in addition to Russian. (Biocapacity reserve is calculated by measuring the difference between biocapacity and Ecological Footprint.)

Between 1992 and 2009, Russia’s per capita biocapacity reserve expanded from 0.9 to 2.6 global hectares, due in large part to a decline in per capita consumption and subsequent 24 percent decrease of the country’s carbon Footprint component. This makes Russia unique in having both a relatively large population and increasing biocapacity reserve, stresses the report.

'Russia is in an advantageous position as one of the few nations in the world with a solid biocapacity reserve,' said Mathis Wackernagel, President of Global Footprint Network. 'It is squarely in Russia’s self-interest to minimize the loss of its biocapacity reserve by managing its resources use wisely. If it fails to do so, Russia will be caught in the same resource crisis that many other countries face.'