Our allies at the Global Footprint Network and WWF have released their new report Africa: Ecological Footprint and Human Well-Being, on pathways towards sustainable development. It's a sharp piece of work, with explanations of the broader trends involved, analysis of the particular situations of several representative nations, and some good thinking about the critical roles leapfrogging technologies, sustainable cities, water management and biodiversity conservation will play in Africa's future. If you're looking for a quick primer on sustainable development in Africa, you should start here.

But what really hit me is this graph, which seems to sum up the fundamental challenge in one image:

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