Assessment of Urban Carrying Capacity and Ecological Security of Sanandaj Using Ecological Footprint Method

Nowadays, moving towards sustainability is highly considered in different societies with different levels of technology and management. In order to have a stable and healthy city, planners, decision makers and experts have tried to seek indices, by which the urban communities’ capacity towards sustainability could be examined. In this context, the use of ecological footprint indicator in assessing urban carrying capacity has attracted so much attention in educational and scientific context. The present study attempted to investigate carrying capacity of Sanandaj in 2014 using ecological footprint indicator. The results showed that per capita ecological footprint of the city, for housing, transportation and food is 1.43 hectares which is less than the national per capita footprint (2.7 global hectares). The most and least parts of the ecological footprint belong to housing sector with 371923.5 global hectare (0.99 ha per capita) and to food sector with 382.917 global hectare (per capita 0.001) respectively. The bio-capacity of Sanandaj was 0.38 global hectares during this period that indicates the ecological deficit and an upcoming instability in this city. Also in this study it was tried to examine the ecological security in Sanandaj using pressure indicators of production, consumption and distribution of ecological footprint and it was revealed that due to the higher rate of production pressure (14.96) to consuming pressure (3.71), Ecological Footprint distribution index (3.03), was positive and showed that the city of Sanandaj is in a very dangerous state in terms of ecological security and would have a worrying condition in the future.
Extended Abstract
1-Introduction
Nowadays, Urbanization is a global concern and the pressures of human activities and demographic needs are increasing, so considering the productive capacity and sustainability of cities, taking into account the relationship between pressure and land support in providing human demands, is essential that makes it necessary to assess the carrying capacity of urban areas. The concept of carrying capacity of urban ecosystems can be used to demonstrate the sustainable development trend in a dynamic city. This indicator analyzes urban metabolism by examining the ability to develop, resources constraints, and urbanization growth, and indicates that excessive utilization of resources and outpacing demand for supply, would result in urban instability and, consequently, ecological insecurity. In order to ensure urban sustainability, considering the effect and amount of human activities and capacity of the environment for production, the support capacity of the land and the ecological security status of an urban ecosystem can be analyzed by comparing the pressures of production and consumption.
2-Materials and Methods
The present study attempted to investigate carrying capacity of Sanandaj in 2014 using biological capacity, ecological footprint of consumption, ecological footprint of production and ecological footprint distribution index. Sanandaj is the center of Kurdistan province and has a limited regional role in the field of industry and plays a predominant role in providing services at various economic and social levels at the regional and sub-regional levels. The data is collected through documentation and field studies. In the documentation method, the required data were collected using library studies and referrals to internet sites, scientific databases and related organizations. A part of the information that was not able to be collected by documentary method was obtained through the transmission of 400 questionnaires between Sanandaj citizens, and the sample size was determined according to Cochran formula. The samples were selected and distributed by simple random sampling method. In the analysis stage, the data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS and Excel softwares. To obtain the ecological footprint of the housing sector, the footprints of land made and consumed energy (water, electricity, gas); To obtain the ecological footprint of the transport sector, the footprints of the land used in this section and consumed fuels; and to track the footprint of the food sector, the footprint of consumption in the food basket of Sanandaj households were used.
3- Results and Discussion
The results showed that per capita ecological footprint of the city, for housing, transportation and food is 1.43 global hectares which is less than the national per capita footprint (2.7 global hectares). The most and least parts of the ecological footprint belong to housing sector with 371923.5 global hectare (0.99 ha per capita) and to food sector with 382.917 global hectare (0.001per capita) respectively. The bio-capacity of Sanandaj, Based on the amount of productive land production in forest, agriculture, rangeland, built areas and fishing grounds,  was 0.38 global hectares that indicates the ecological deficit and an upcoming instability in this city. Therefore, although the per capita footprint of Sanandaj (1.43 global hectare) is less than the national footprint (2.7 global hectare), but because the biological capacity is less than the footprint of consumption, and given the per capita ecological deficit of the city (1.04 global hectare), it can be said that the city of Sanandaj is in an unsustainable state. To monitor the ecological safety of Sanandaj, in addition to the footprint of consumption and biological capacity, the production footprint of productive lands is also required. To estimate the ecological footprint of the region's primary production, the total footprint of all consumed resources and all produced wastes, within the geographical boundary of the area, was used and the production footprint was estimated equal to 2170727.21 global hectares.
4- Conclusion
In this study it was tried to examine the ecological security in Sanandaj using pressure indicators of production, consumption and distribution of ecological footprint and it was revealed that due to the higher rate of production pressure (14.96) to consuming pressure (3.71), Ecological Footprint distribution index (3.03), was positive and showed that the city of Sanandaj is in a very dangerous state in terms of ecological security. The prevailing parameter that determines the ecological security of the region is the production pressure factor that is due to surplus pressure on the consumption rate of Sanandaj citizens, and it shows that exports are a main factor in the ecological imbalance of the region. It was also observed that the ecological footprint of production and consumption exceeds the bio-capacity of the area, indicating that the ecological pressure transmitted outside the area poses a threat to ecological security. Accordingly, urban officials and planners should base their decisions on the footprint of production and consumption, and by controlling supply and demand, and the amount of utilization of productive lands, try to compensate for the ecological shortage of the city. Proper consumption management in the city, would steer it towards sustainability and make its ecological space safer.