Ecological footprint theory and model have been applied to calculate the ecological footprint and ecological capacity

according to the investigation on the three natural villages of Zhifanggou watershed in the loess hilly and gully region.Before the implementation of cropland conversion to forest land project

the ecological footprint was 0.991 0 hm2/cap

the ecological capacity was 0.892 6 hm2/cap

and the deficit was 0.098 4 hm2/cap(1999).After the first stage project(2007)

the ecological footprint was 1.018 8 hm2/cap

and the ecological capacity and the ecological surplus had reached 1.270 3 and 0.251 5 hm2/cap

respectively.The results indicate that the cropland conversion into forest land project has given rise to sound effects.Meanwhile

the ecological footprint order for the three natural villages did not change

which was unanimous with its regional characters.Ecological agriculture with commodity economy should be developed and the relation between industry and resources should be consolidated in the watershed to realize the sustainable development in the region

according to the development process of the 3 natural villages.