Growth in human population and consumption both need to be addressed to reach an ecologically sustainable future

The global human population is still growing such that our collective enterprise is driving environmental catastrophe. Despite a decline in average population growth rate, we are still experiencing the highest annual increase of global human population size in the history of our species-averaging an additional 84 million people per year since 1990. No review to date has accumulated the available evidence describing the associations between increasing population and environmental decline, nor solutions for mitigating the problems arising. We summarize the available evidence of the relationships between human population size and growth and environmental integrity, human prosperity and wellbeing, and climate change. We used PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science to identify all relevant peer-reviewed and gray-literature sources examining the consequences of human population size and growth on the biosphere. We reviewed papers describing and quantifying the risks associated with population growth, especially relating to climate change. These risks are global in scale, such as greenhouse-gas emissions, climate disruption, pollution, loss of biodiversity, and spread of disease-all potentially catastrophic for human standards of living, health, and general wellbeing. The trends increasing the risks of global population growth are country development, demographics, maternal education, access to family planning, and child and maternal health. Support for nations still going through a demographic transition is required to ensure progress occurs within planetary boundaries and promotes equity and human rights. Ensuring the wellbeing for all under this aim itself will lower population growth and further promote environmental sustainability.

Reviewed by: Sparing Nature: The Conflict between Human Population Growth and Earth's Biodiversity J. Roberts, Ph.D. Sparing Nature: The Conflict between Human Population Growth and Earth's Biodiversity Author: Jeffrey K. McKee Publisher: Rutgers University Press, ISBN: 0813531411 (hard cover) Pages: 210 In Sparing Nature, Jeffrey K. McKee, an anthropologist at Ohio State University in the United States, makes a compelling argument in support of his proposition that there is a longstanding relationship between human population growth and the loss of plant and animal biodiversity worldwide. Reading through the pages, one can detect the ideas of Thomas Malthus, Charles Darwin, Kingsly Davis, Paul Ehrlich, Barry Commoner, Garrett Hardin and E.O. Wilson, among other notables. Clearly McKee's thinking has been importantly shaped by these scholars. All of these scholars discussed, in one form or another, problems associated with population growth. And one, E.O. Wilson, has repeatedly addressed the biodiversity problem. McKee's work differs in that it is entirely devoted to the subject of population growth and the loss of biodiversity. Using wit combined with scientific rigor, McKee takes the reader on a six million year journey, beginning with our prehuman ancestors and ending at the present day. What he shows the reader on this journey is often disturbing. But it is a "good read." It is clearly the work of an erudite, concerned and thoughtful scientist. McKee presents three propositions that are the foundation of his book. Proposition one states that "there is a very close relationship between biodiversity loss and human population growth." Proposition two states that "the most important conservation measure we can take is to slow or halt the growth of the human population." Proposition three states that "conserving biodiversity is vital to the health of our planet, and conseqently is vital to us." These propositions are based on a set of beliefs that shape the author's thinking. McKee firmly believes that a major biodiversity crisis is at hand; that humans are largely responsible for the current biodiversity crisis; that this crisis is not sustainable and is life threatening, not only to the flora and fauna of the planet, but to the human species as well; that each species plays a part in maintaining the world's ecosystems and each is important in its own right; that all life-forms compete for space and other limited resources and that human beings are out-competing other organisms for limited space and resources; and that, if rapid corrective action is not taken to radically reduce the number of human beings on the planet, extinction rates of species will accelerate in the future. McKee presents his argument within the span of nine chapters (a preface, notes, and index complete his 210 page book). Chapter I begins with an introduction to basic ecological concepts. The main propositions of the book are presented. Chapter II provides an overview of how evolution works. The fossil record is used to draw a link between population growth and the loss of biodiversity. Problems with measuring species biodiversity and species loss [End Page 87] are discussed. The claim is made that population growth, and associated expansion of humans into all ecosystems, is leading to the destruction of ecosystem biodiversity, species biodiversity and genetic biodiversity. Finally, McKee introduces Darwin's so-called "Wedge" model to illustrate how one species can push into the abyss of extinction other species. In Chapter III McKee details the evolution of pre-humans in Africa. Using the fossil record, McKee skillfully and meticulously shows that between 6 million to 1.8 million years ago our prehuman ancestors had little impact on biodiversity. It was not until the arrival of Homo erectus about 1.8 million years ago that the loss of biodiversity became problematic. As our ancient ancestors migrated out of Africa to distant lands, the rate of biodiversity loss accelerated even further. As McKee carefully documents in Chapter IV, the pattern of population growth and biodiversity loss took a major turn for the worse with the advent of agriculture some 10,000 years ago in what is now the Middle East. Chapter V introduces the reader to basic demographic concepts and principles. Using quantitative data...

The Central Yangtze ecoregion in China includes a number of lakes, but these have been greatly affected by human activities over the past several decades, resulting in severe loss of biodiversity. In this paper, we document the present distribution of the major lakes and the changes in size that have taken place over the past 50 years, using remote sensing data and historical observations of land cover in the region. We also provide an overview of the changes in species richness, community composition, population size and age structure, and individual body size of aquatic plants, fishes, and waterfowl in these lakes. The overall species richness of aquatic plants found in eight major lakes has decreased substantially during the study period. Community composition has also been greatly altered, as have population size and age and individual body size in some species. These changes are largely attributed to the integrated effects of lake degradation, the construction of large hydroelectric dams, the establishment of nature reserves, and lake restoration practices.

Abstract. Data describing economic growth and the growth of human population in the United Kingdom are analysed. Contrary to the widely accepted interpretations, Industrial Revolution had no impact on shaping trajectories of economic growth and of the growth of population. Within the range of analysable data, there was also no Malthusian stagnation. Consequently, there was no escape from Malthusian trap because there was no trap in the economic growth and in the growth of human population. The United Kingdom was the centre of the Industrial Revolution and yet its data are in the direct contradiction of the currently accepted interpretations. It is fortunate that natural processes did not comply with our fanciful and wished-for explanations of the mechanism of growth. If they did, if the generally claimed takeoffs did occur, it would have been a disaster because economic growth and the growth of population would have been already unmanageable everywhere. Keywords. United Kingdom, Economic growth, Population growth, Income per capita, Malthusian stagnation, Industrial Revolution. JEL. A10 , A12, C12, Y80.

. Rigorous analysis of demographic catastrophes shows that, individually, they were too weak to shape the growth of human population and of the associated economic growth. On average, only 6.5% of all major demographic catastrophes, associated with the death toll larger than or equal to one million, were potentially strong enough to cause perhaps a minor change in the growth trajectory of the world population, but as shown by the population data, they did not produce any noticeable disturbance. The absence of impacts of demographic catastrophes on the growth of population can be explained not only by their low relative intensity but also by the strong and efficient regenerating process recorded for the first time by Malthus. There was, however, one unusual event manifested in the convergence of five, major demographic catastrophes. They have caused a minor and short-lasting change in the growth trajectory of the world population, which, however, was soon counteracted by the process of regeneration. This analysishows that the dominant force controlling the growth of human population was too strong to be influenced in any substantial way by accidental forces. As explained in an earlier publication, this strong and dominant force driving the growth of population was the force of procreation, which was approximately constant per person, the force expressed as a difference between the ever-present, biologically-controlled,force of sex drive and the ever-present and also biologically-controlled process of aging and dying. Keywords. Demographic catastrophes, Growth of population, Economic growth, Malthusian stagnation, Hyperbolic growth, Mechanism of hyperbolic growth. JEL. A10, A12, A20, B41,C12,Y80.

Urban growth is a major threat to biodiversity conservation at the global scale. Its impacts are expected to be especially detrimental when it sprawls into the landscape and reaches sites of high conservation value due to the species and ecosystems they host, such as protected areas. I analyzed the degree of urbanization (i.e., urban cover and growth rate) from 2006 to 2015 in protected sites in the Natura 2000 network, which, according to the Habitats and Birds Directives, harbor species and habitats of high conservation concern in Europe. I used data on the degree of land imperviousness from COPERNICUS to calculate and compare urban covers and growth rates inside and outside Natura 2000. I also analyzed the relationships of urban cover and growth rates with a set of characteristics of Natura sites. Urban cover inside Natura 2000 was 10 times lower than outside (0.4% vs. 4%) throughout the European Union. However, the rates of urban growth were slightly higher inside than outside Natura 2000 (4.8% vs. 3.9%), which indicates an incipient urban sprawl inside the network. In general, Natura sites affected most by urbanization were those surrounded by densely populated areas (i.e., urban clusters) that had a low number of species or habitats of conservation concern, albeit some member states had high urban cover or growth rate or both in protected sites with a large number of species or habitats of high conservation value. Small Natura sites had more urban cover than large sites, but urban growth rates were highest in large Natura sites. Natura 2000 is protected against urbanization to some extent, but there is room for improvement. Member states must enact stricter legal protection and control law enforcement to halt urban sprawl into protected areas under the greatest pressure from urban sprawl (i.e., close to urban clusters). Such actions are particularly needed in Natura sites with high urban cover and growth rates and areas where urbanization is affecting small Natura sites of high conservation value, which are especially vulnerable and concentrated in the Mediterranean region.

All over the world, human population size and growth have been forecast as a chief driver of biodiversity loss with no exception to Nigeria. Nigeria is universally known for its biodiversity of national and international importance but at the same time affected by its growing population. The Nigerian population is projected to grow above 195, 905, 783 by the middle of the century. No doubt, the health of the ecosystem has been irreversibly affected by the often quest to exploit the environment to meet the daily needs of the growing population. There is now more pressure on the components of biodiversity than ever before necessitated by the corresponding demand by humans. It is majorly human activities associated with population growth that cause the loss of biodiversity. Nigeria appears to have population control policy regulating the family size as per the number of children a household is expected to have but the policy appears to be voluntary and ineffective. Thus, there is the urgent need to slow down the population not only to reduce the pressure on biodiversity but also to ensure sustainable use of biodiversity for the benefit of the present and future generations. Therefore, this work seeks to examine the links between population growth and biodiversity conservation in Nigeria and the need to have an extant law to control the growing population. It makes far reaching recommendations which include the integration of family planning into biodiversity conservation. It also recommended that a legal regime should be put in place to regulate the family size of individual household with social and economic incentives outside population control policy that has no legal sanction. Keywords: Impact, Population, Biodiversity, Conservation, Legal Intervention DOI : 10.7176/JLPG/92-16 Publication date: December 31 st 2019

Four Commentaries on the Pope’s Message on Climate Change and Income Inequality. IV. Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, Global Environmental Risks, and the Future of Humanity.

The world's population recently surpassed 7 billion and is predicted to reach 9.2 billion by 2050. Continued population growth will result in increased resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing the effects of climate change. Synergisms between population growth and climate change will therefore have substantial negative impacts on the environment. However, solutions to population growth are often absent within the context of climate change. To address this absence, we conducted a review of the primary scientific literature published between 1980 and 2011 using ISI Web of Knowledge to determine the major topics that have been discussed, the geographic scale at which these topics were addressed, what types of solutions were proposed, and whether or not these solutions were tractable. In particular, we quantified the portion of the literature that addressed population growth and climate change as synergistic issues. Of 1,438 papers addressing population growth and climate change, only 139 (∼10%) included solutions. Among these 139 papers, the most frequent topics and solutions addressed the societal aspects of population growth and climate change. Land use/land cover change and greenhouse gas emissions were also frequently discussed, while changes in policy, economics, and science and technology were the most frequently offered solutions to population growth and climate change. Education, energy, and health, were the least discussed topics and the least mentioned as solutions. In addition, while topics were discussed on a global scale, actionable solutions were often regionally dependent and tailored to address either population growth or climate change as separate, unrelated topics. Importantly, the number of papers offering solutions increased significantly over time, with 46% published since 2008. These results suggest that while solutions to human population growth have seldom been discussed in the context of climate change, they are beginning to be considered in the literature, perhaps indicating an increased awareness of the interrelatedness of these issues.

Towards a multidimensional view of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in a changing world

Abstract. A simple but useful method of reciprocal values is introduced, explained and illustrated. This method simplifies the analysis of hyperbolic distributions, which are causing serious problems in the demographic and economic research. It allows for a unique identification of hyperbolic distributions and for unravelling components of more complicated trajectories. This method is illustrated by a few examples: growth of the world population during the AD era; growth of population in Africa; economic growth in Western Europe; and the world economic growth. They show that fundamental postulates of the demographic and economic research are contradicted by data, even by precisely the same data, which are used in this research. The generally accepted postulates are based on the incorrect understanding of hyperbolic distributions, which characterise the historical growth of population and the historical economic growth. In particular, data used, but never analysed, during the formulation of the Unified Growth Theory show that this theory is based on fundamentally incorrect premises and thus is fundamentally defective. In this theory, distorted representations of data are used to support preconceived and incorrect ideas. Precisely the same data, when properly analysed, show that the theory is incorrect. Application of this simple method of analysis points to new directions in the demographic and economic research. It suggests simpler interpretations of the mechanism of growth. The concept or the evidence of the past primitive and difficult living conditions, which might be perhaps described as some kind of stagnation, is not questioned or disputed. It is only demonstrated that trajectories of the past economic growth and of the growth of population were not reflecting any form of stagnation and thus that they were not shaped by these primitive and difficult living conditions. The concept or evidence of an explosion in technology, medicine, education and in the improved living conditions is not questioned or disputed. It is only demonstrated that this possible explosion is not reflected in trajectories of the economic growth and of the growth of population. Growth trajectories were increasing monotonically during the generally claimed epoch of stagnation and during the claimed explosion. Keywords. Hyperbolic distributions, Reciprocal values, Economic growth, Growth of human population, Industrial revolution, Unified Growth Theory, Growth regimes, Gross Domestic Product. JEL. A10, A12, A20, B41, C02, C12, C20, C50, Y80.

Post-2020 aspirations for biodiversity

Environmental degradation is a primary indicator in reducing sustainability and causing many of the challenges faced by humankind, such as climate change, water scarcity, inequality, and hunger. One way to resolve the sustainable issue (environmental degradation) is to promote sustainable development through a commitment to social progress, environmental balance, and economic growth. In conjunction with the present issue, this study aims to analyse the nexus of human development index, economic and population growth on environmental degradation in South Aceh District, Aceh Province, Indonesia. This quantitative study uses secondary data that involved three main variables: environmental degradation, economic growth, and population growth. This study data were collected from the Central Bureau of Statistics, Aceh, Indonesia and related Regional Government Agency for 20 years started 1997 to 2017. This study found that the human development index and population growth positively and significantly affect environmental degradation. Also, economic growth has no significant impact on environmental degradation. In conclusion, this study identifies that when the human development index low and population growth high, it would increase environmental degradation. Surprisingly, whereas economic growth does not significantly contribute to environmental degradation, this study can provide an overview of the nexus of human development index, economic and population growth on environmental degradation and its impact on society.

The study examines how population growth and climate change affect human development in Pakistan. The rapid population growth and escalating climate change impacts in the country necessitate an understanding of their implications for human development. The study utilized time series data from 1990 to 2020 and employed descriptive analysis, an Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model, a unit root test, and a bounds test for cointegration to analyze the data. The study considered the variables for analysis, such as Human Development, Climate change, and Population growth. The findings revealed that population growth and climate change have significantly influenced human development outcomes in Pakistan, with higher population growth and climate change leading to lower human development levels in the long run. The implications of the study underscored the need for urgent action to address the negative impacts of rapid population growth and climate change on human development in Pakistan. The study derived several suggestions from the findings, including implementing a family planning program, investing in education, promoting climate change awareness campaigns, integrating climate change considerations into national policies, empowering local communities, and encouraging research and innovations in sustainable development and climate change adaptation.

Humans cling to their exceptionalism, a mindset of omnipotence. This defensive conceit has sent us into ecological overshoot. I assess Freud's effort to de‐center humanity, and describe subsequent psychoanalytic efforts to understand the environmental crisis. Psychoanalytic literature has indeed confronted the ecological crisis, but it usually targets climate change denial, over‐consumption, and our perverse relationship to technology. Psychoanalysis, like the broader culture, seems at pains to avoid overpopulation. Moving to ecology, I summarize overshoot science. Growth in human population and consumption drive the triple‐crises of climate change, resource depletion and biodiversity loss. Politics have undermined this scientific consensus. I then identify the anxieties overpopulation evokes and our defenses against them: disavowal, regression to part‐object solutions, and omnipotence. We have good reason to deploy them. Overshoot brutally confronts us with limits and loss and the unwelcome imperative for reproductive restraint. Alert to these hard truths, psychoanalysis can objectively reflect on analysands' wish for a child, analyzing both constructive and destructive aspects of the wish. Ecology, like the psychoanalytic frame, contains and limits us. And limits promote the maturational work of mourning.