What is a global hectare?

Answer 1

To allow different types of land to be compared using a common denominator, equivalence factors are used to convert physical hectares of different types of land, such as cropland and pasture, into the common unit of global hectares. The use of global hectares recognizes that different types of land have a different ability to produce useful goods and services for humans. One hectare of cropland can produce a greater quantity of useful and valuable food products than a single hectare of grazing land, for example. By converting both cropland and pasture into global hectares, they can be compared on an equal basis.

A global hectare is defined as a hectare with world-average productivity for all biologically productive land and water in a given year. Biologically productive land includes areas such as cropland, forest, and fishing grounds, and excludes deserts, glaciers, and the open ocean. Global hectares are the common, standardized unit used for reporting Ecological Footprint and biocapacity across time and for areas throughout the world. Because total global production changes over time, the amount of physical material produced by a single global hectare also changes over time.