Linking the FA cup final to Cardiff's ecological footprint offers a clear indicator of how much impact there are on the environment.
Ecological footprint is expressed in terms of global hectares per capita (gha/capita) 1 hectare is about the size of a football pitch. This was calculated based on fans physical consumption in terms of food and drinks to travels, and the waste generated during the event. As a result, the footprint was estimated at 3000 global hectares (gha), which as suggested is equal to 3000 football pitches. It was estimated on the event that if people stayed at home to watch the game the ecological footprint would have been seven times smaller (Collins 2009: 832). Traveling patterns was estimated 54% of the total footprint; this shows us that such issue can be solved from cheaper public transport, to encourage fans to travel by trains rather than cars. The increase number of rubbish may result in, more lands needed to hold wastes. Linking to the theory of wilderness, as we further deplete more land, rather than trying to preserve natural habitat (Mannell 1996: 412). As places such as Newport Wetlands starts to preserve nature, Cities in South Wales starts to expand for future economic benefits, as major sporting events helps improve Cardiff's local economy. Showing the importance of urbanisation in Cardiff. The result of urbanisation leads to negative impacts on the environment. However, small organisation are aware of the negative impact, as places such as Newport Wetlands and Brecon Beacons attempts to preserve Wale's natural habitat. This further leads me to my case study of Newport Wetlands, linking to the theory of social construct and the importance of preserving South Wales environment.
Newport Wetlands.
Newport Wetlands was established in 2000 to mitigate losses of wildlife habitat when the Cardiff Bay Barrage scheme was first introduced. Newport Wetlands is a man made national nature reserve, with a purpose to attract visitor and provide an education center for schools.
