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

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. 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. 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. 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.