Ecological footprint and ecological safety of Weinan City of China

A quantitative study was undertaken to examine ecological footprint and ecological safety of Weinan City of Shaanxi Province,China,from 1985 to 2003.Per capita ecological footprint of Weinan gradually increases from 1.3792hm² in 1985 to 2.3516hm² in 2003.Per capita ecological capacity is between 0.4726hm² and 0.5917hm².An increase in per capita ecological deficit is noted from 0.8423hm² in 1985 to 1.8291hm² in 2003.Ecological tension index increases from 0.82 in 1985 to 1.29 in 2003.Ecological occupancy index increases from 0.63 to 1.08 over the same period with an ecological economic coordination index range of 0.58～0.88.Results show the current development model of Weinan to be unsustainable with ecological environment being at risk.Also,socio-economic development does not match ecological capacity.