Geomorphological analysis of switching the location of military bases (Case study Western slopes of Sahand Mountain)

Extended Abstract
Introduction
Cities have been developing since the Industrial Revolution. The growth of cities has many
consequences on the environment. As a result of the increase in adverse consequences of the
urban growth, United Nations considered the necessity for sustainable development issues in
cities. The first step in this procedure is some methods for measurement of the sustainable
development by Reliable indicators. Ecological footprint is one of these methods that have been
used for measuring urban sustainability in the Cities like London, Santiago, and Liverpool. We
have used this method to measure urban sustainability in Rasht County, Iran. The results
indicate that the ecological footprint is equivalent to 1.797 per capita in Rasht. Also biological
capacity (biocapacity) in this city is equal to 0.414 hectar per capita. Therefore, we conclude
that Rasht is not sustainable in terms of ecological footprint index.
Cities have been developing since the Industrial Revolution with many consequences on the
environment. An increase in deleterious effects of urban growth caused the United Nations to
pay attention to sustainable development in cities. As the first step in this procedure it is
required to measure the sustainable development by reliable indicators. Sustainable
development can be measured by determining Ecological Footprint as one of the indicators.
This is a measure of the amount of biologically productive land and water required to support 
the demands of a population or productive activity. The first Ecological Footprints have been
calculated using a component-based approach. This has evolved into a more comprehensive and
robust approach, compound Footprinting, now used for national Footprint accounting. The
component-based approach sums the Ecological Footprint of all relevant components of a
population in resource consumption and waste production. This is, first, by identifying all of
the individual goods and services and the amounts thereof a given population consumes,
and second, by assessing the Ecological Footprint of each component using life-cycle data that
track the resource requirements of a given product from resource extraction to waste disposal.
Ecological footprint method has already been used for measuring urban sustainability in the
Cities like London, Santiago, and Liverpool. We have used this method for measuring urban
sustainability in Rasht County, Iran. The Ecological Footprint utilize the yields of primary
products (from cropland, forest, grazing and fisheries) to calculate the area necessary to support
a given activity. Biocapacity is measured by calculating the amount of biologically productive
area of land and sea available to provide the resources a population consumes and to absorb its
wastes, given current technology and management practices. Countries differ in the productivity
of their ecosystems, and this is reflected in corresponding accounts. Ecological Footprint
accounts allow governments to track a city or region’s demand on natural capital, and to
compare this demand with the amount of natural capital actually available. The accounts also
give governments the ability to answer more specific questions about the distribution of these
demands within their economy. In other words, it gives them information about their resource
metabolism. They also help assess the ecological capacity embodied in the imports upon which
a region is dependent. This can shed light on the region’s constraints or future liabilities in
comparison with other regions of the world, and identify opportunities to defend or improve the
local quality of life. Footprint accounts help governments become more specific about
sustainability in a number of ways. The accounts provide a common language and a clearly
defined methodology that can be used to support staff training and to communicate about
sustainability issues with other levels of government or with the public. Footprint accounts add
value to existing data sets on production, trade and environmental performance by providing a
comprehensive way to interpret them. For instance, the accounts can help guide “environmental
management systems” by offering a framework for gathering and organizing data, setting
targets and tracking progress. The accounts can also serve as environmental reporting
requirements, and inform strategic decision-making for regional economic development. The
global effort for sustainability will be won, or lost, in the world’s cities, where urban design
may influence over 70 percent of people’s Ecological Footprint. High-Footprint cities can
reduce this demand on nature greatly with existing technology. Many of these savings also cut
costs and make cities more livable. Since urban infrastructure is long-lasting and influences
resource needs for decades to come, infrastructure decisions make or break a city’s future.
Which cities are building future resource traps? Which ones are building opportunities for
resource efficient and more competitive lifestyles? Without regional resource accounting,
governments can easily overlook or fail to realize the extent of these kinds of opportunities and
threats. The Ecological Footprint, a comprehensive, science-based resource accounting system 
that compares people’s use of nature with nature’s ability to regenerate, helps eliminate this
blind spot.
Methodology
We have used the Ecological footprint method for testing the research hypotheses. Ecological
footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems. It is a standardized measure
of demand for natural capital that may be contrasted with the planet's ecological capacity for
regeneration. It represents the amount of biologically productive land and sea area necessary to
supply the resources a human population consumes, and to assimilate associated waste. Using
this assessment, it is possible to estimate how much of the Earth it would take to support
humanity if everybody followed a given lifestyle.
Results and Discussion
The results show that the ecological footprint is equivalent to 1.797 per capita in Rasht. Also
biological capacity (biocapacity) in this city is also equal to 0.414 hectar per capita. In the study
area ecological Footprint is much more than the biological capacity. This means the instability
in ecological system. The Ecological Footprint in consumption for the study area is lower than
other counties in Iran.
Conclusion
According to the results of the study, we conclude that Rasht is not sustainable in terms of
ecological footprint index. Although the county is ecologically instable, but the Ecological
Footprint in Rasht County is lower than that in the Iran and in the world. The instability may be
resulted from excessive use of natural resources and also tourism activities. It can be
recommended to have optimized use of natural resources, suitable planning for tourism, and
education of the public for sound consumption of resources.