Index of Human Impact on Nature

Index of Human Impact on Nature (HIoN) March 2008

As of End March 2008, the MSRB-CASF Index of Human Impact on Nature (HIoN), an index for calculating the full impact of human consumption and activities on the Earth’s life support systems, stood at a terminally high level of 177.43, a rise of about 3.5 percent over the previous year. In other words, the full human impact including the ecological footprint and the damage inflicted on the living environment by his activities in the 12-month period ending March 2008 was 77.43 percent higher than the load which the planet’s ecosystems in their current state can cope with.

Components of HIoN

The HIoN Index integrates updated data and methodology used by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Synthesis Report for Global Status of Provisioning, Regulating, and Cultural Ecosystem services.

According to HIoN projections, our cities and population centers could become almost entirely unsustainable by as early as 2015.

Related Links:

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities