A WWF report has stated that African countries are overusing natural resources to a dangerous degree and thus pushing the continent to its ecological limits. It is understood that overpopulation - and thus constantly increasing demand for resources - is the main cause of the problem.

The report, entitled "Africa-Ecological Footprint and Human Well-being," examines the ecological footprint of Africa as a continent - a study this detailed has previously never been compiled. WWF teamed up with US research group, the Global Footprint Network in order to bring the report into existence. The over-consumption of natural resources would not be such a major problem if it weren't for the fact that they are not being replaced at a fast enough rate. WWF President, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, said: "A growing number of African countries are depleting their natural resources - or will shortly be doing so - faster than they can be replaced.

Major offenders of this over-consumption are Egypt, Algeria and Libya. The report says that these nations are living well beyond their ecological means. Other countries such as Tunisia, Senegal, Nigeria and Morocco (along with 5 others) are all using too much and not giving enough back as well.

The continent's total bio-capacity stands at 1.3 hectares (of land and sea) per person. The amount of land and sea currently required to support its population is 1.1 hectares per person. Despite the worrying results of the report, consumption rates in Africa are still well below the global average. The 1.1 hectares of land and sea per person is half that of the global average footprint, a staggering 2.2 hectares. The world bio-capacity is only 1.8 hectares per person, which means we will hypothetically need 2 planet Earths to sustain our current population by 2050.

But problems for the African continent worsen as its population continues to rise at an alarming rate - current estimates claim its population will double by 2050, and will mean that the world's poorest continent will be home to a quarter of the world's population. Its current population is 680 million.

The pressure is now on the UN and governments of rich nations to continue developing these poor African countries while also encouraging them to remain under their current bio-capacity of 1.3 hectares of land and sea per head of population. Global Footprint Network director, Mathis Wackernagel, says development is crucial for the African population but they must "work with, rather than against, ecological budget constraints."

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