While Africans per capita consume very little of the world’s biological resources, growing population is bringing the region close to reaching it’s ecological limits, according to a groundbreaking report, Global Footprint Network, in conjunction with WWF, presented June 9 at the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment in Johannesburg.

Offering the first in-depth look at the Ecological Footprint of Africa and its constituent countries, Africa: Ecological Footprint and Human Wellbeing examines the role natural resources can play in advancing the region’s goals to end poverty and disease – or conversely, if mismanaged, in thwarting these goals. The report is the result of a multi-year effort by Global Footprint Network and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation to explore how ecological limits apply and relate to human development in the region.  

Download the report here.