Table 3-5: Ecological surplus/deficit and degree of overshoot of New Zealand regions, 1997/98

Region	Ecological footprint (ha)	Usable land area¹ (ha)	Ecological surplus/ deficit² (ha)	Degree of overshoot³ (%)
Auckland	2,319,940	481,370	-1,838,570	481.9
Nelson	76,910	35,230	-41,680	218.3
Wellington	1,029,010	723,190	-305,820	142.3
Bay of Plenty	618,260	925,530	307,270	66.8
Waikato	1,048,860	2,018,920	970,060	52.0
Manawatu-Wanganui	879,520	1,833,120	953,600	48.0
Canterbury	1,737,840	3,636,070	1,898,230	47.8
Otago	1,019,050	2,155,440	1,136,390	47.3
West Coast	121,890	266,250	144,360	45.8
Northland	477,120	1,089,020	611,900	43.8
Taranaki	233,150	635,250	402,100	36.7
Hawkes Bay	384,660	1,048,480	663,820	36.7
Southland	375,310	1,257,430	882,120	29.8
Marlborough	163,810	606,090	442,280	27.0
Tasman	82,180	332,910	250,730	24.7
Gisborne	141,660	732,100	590,440	19.3
New Zealand	11,684,650	17,783,950	6,099,300	65.7

Usable land is the total amount of land in each region; minus land in national parks, forest parks and reserves; minus remaining biologically non-productive land.
The ecological surplus/deficit is the usable land area minus the ecological footprint. A positive number means that the region is in ecological surplus, while a negative number means that the region is in ecological deficit.
The degree of overshoot is the ecological footprint divided by the usable land area, expressed as a percentage. Greater than 100 percent means the region has overshot its biocapacity, while less than 100 percent means the region is living within its biocapacity.