The report “Ecological Footprint of Goat Meat from Nomadic Pastoralist Families in Turkey,” resulting from our collaboration with the Global Footprint Network has been published!   The report analyses the ecological footprint of the nomadic pastoralism practised by the Sarıkeçili community in Turkey.

We are experiencing the consequences of both the biodiversity and climate crises not only through the collapse of ecosystems and the extinction of many species but also through the breakdown of habitats and food production systems, large-scale disasters like wildfires and floods, and the accompanying social and economic issues. 

The main cause of both crises is production and consumption systems that demand more from the world than it can regenerate, ignoring nature’s limits for renewal. However, throughout our short history on this planet, there are still experiences that show it is possible to sustain human life and livelihoods in harmony with nature.  

Based on this reality, we have added a new study to our efforts to research and support traditional and local production systems that contribute to conserving biodiversity and combating climate change and its effects.

Ecological Footprint and Nomadic Pastoralism

The Ecological Footprint (EF) is a method created by the Global Footprint Network (GFN) to measure human demand on natural capital. It indicates the biological capacity needed to renew the resources consumed by humans and to dispose of the waste produced.

In collaboration with GFN, we used this method to investigate the Ecological Footprint of goat meat production by Sarıkeçili nomadic pastoralists in Turkey. With the support provided by the Sarıkeçililer Survival and Solidarity Association and Geççi, we collected data through fieldwork and calculated the total net Ecological Footprint of each herd by measuring the footprint of all inputs and outputs annually.

Our research revealed striking findings:

‼️ Nomadic pastoralism has an Ecological Footprint that requires 135% less of the planet’s biocapacity compared to industrial production. 

‼️  If goat meat were produced worldwide using traditional nomadic pastoralist methods like those of Sarıkeçili nomadic pastoralists in the Taurus mountains, Earth Overshoot Day would be pushed back by 2.2 days. 

For detailed information on the research, you can access the full report in English here.

You can find the factsheets in Turkish here and in English here.

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