Dear all,
As several of you know, during the last year several departments of
Ghent University (Belgium) - in cooperation with the Belgian ngo VODO
-have been working on a research project on ecological debt. The
research was ordered by the Belgian development cooperation and aimed at
clarifying the concept of ecological debt and studying its applicability
in Belgian and international policy. Yesterday, the report has been
approved and it is now available. It can be downloaded from the website
of the Centre for Sustainable Development (Ghent University):

http://cdonet.rug.ac.be/onderzoek/ecological_debt/

The report counts about 230 pages and is divided in five sections:
Part 1 first discusses the current state of affairs on ecological debt.
It then proposes a working definition of ecological debt which serves as
a basis for developing a methodology for calculation (based on material
flow analysis, environmental space and a DPSIR framework for
indicators). It also discusses a scientific frame of reference for
ecological debt

Part 2 on Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) discusses the
status of ecological debt in international environmental law and
obstacles and solutions for introducing the concept in international law

Part 3 and Part 4 apply the concept to Belgium. Part 3 analyses energy
consumption and CO2 emissions in Belgium since 1830 and calculates
Belgium's Carbon Debt. Two models are proposed for calculating the
carbon debt and dividing it between and within generations
(inter-country debt). The Belgian carbon debt is calculated at 4234 to
5787 million tons of CO2 for the period 1900-2003. Valuated at 10 Euros
per ton CO2, gives a total carbon debt of 42 to 58 billion Euros, of
which around 34 billion Euros is inter-country debt.

Part 4 analyses the development of the Belgian livestock sector and
looks at Belgium's ecological debt through land use and ecological
damage in the livestock sector (1960-2000). It was found that the
Belgian livestock sector uses around 2,5 million hectares of land abroad
for the production of protein rich and starch rich fodder crops (the
figure is more or less constant since 1975). This is 250% of total
available arable land in Belgium. Main countries of production for
fodder crops for Belgium are Argentina, Brazil, France, USA and Canada

Part 5 formulates policy implications for dealing with two aspects of
ecological debt, i.e. accounting for historical responsibility and
avoiding daily accumulation of ecological debt. The discussion includes
climate policy (implications for the post-Kyoto period) and external debt relief. This part also contains the final conclusions.

The executive summary of the report (in English and in Dutch) is also
available, as well as a Powerpoint presentation with an overview of the
main results.

We think the report can serve to feed the discussions on ecological debt
and we hope it will strenghten the campaigns for the recognition of
ecological debt. Reactions to the report are warmly welcomed. We want to
thank all of you who contributed in one way or another to the report and
we hope to be able to discuss it with you in future.

Friendly greetings,
for the research team,

Erik Paredis


Erik Paredis
Centre for Sustainable Development
Ghent University
Poel 16
B-9000 Gent
Belgium
Tel. 0032-9-264.82.08
Fax 0032-9-264.83.90
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