Ecological Debt Index and its Application to Climate Resilient Urban Food Systems: Some Preliminary Thoughts

This presentation outlines the application of the ecological debt index (EDI) concept to assess urban households from the point of urban food systems. The concept is being developed for application in a UNEP 10FYP project being implemented in India in collaboration with the Center for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA). The EDI enables users to assess how individual households compare with the current and future sustainable reference households. The reference household profiles are being developed in a consultative manner keeping in view the limitations and potentials in accessing environmentally sustainable technologies at that particular point of time. EDI helps to assess the impact of project interventions in terms of reduction in ecological debt accrued by individual households.