Determination of Ecological Footprint of Instructors and Biocapacity Deficit in Turkey: A Case Study of Hatay-Iskenderun Region

Abstract

Humans have always benefited from natural sources to satisfy their needs. Today, with the increase in population, the natural resources on our earth are decreasing and assumed to be consumed in the near future because of the consciousness of the individuals and the consciousness of consumption away from sustainability. It is important to determine how many planets the world will need in the future if the individual continues to live that way with his current consumption habits. The concept of ecological footprint emerges in determining this need. In this study, ecological footprints were calculated and evaluated depending on the consciousness and consumption habits of the Iskenderun Vocational School of Higher Education affiliated to a newly established university, Iskenderun Technical University. Web-based "Ecological Footprint Calculation Survey" was used as data collection tool in the research. Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation were used in the analysis of the data. As a result of the calculations, the average ecological footprint of Instructors was determined as 2.84 gha person-1, the average carbon footprint was 12.44 tons person-1 and the biocapacity deficit caused by instructors was -1.37 gha person-1. According to these results, at least 2.84 worlds are needed for Iskenderun Vocational School of Higher Educations Instructors for a sustainable life.

Keywords: Biocapacity, carbon footprint, ecological footprint, instructor, Hatay, Turkey