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NCC-Population Dialogue
Why do we need dialogue about population & consumption? – Nov 2015 – Sydney – Nature Conservation Council Seminar
Ecologists studying other species ask four questions:
• How many are there? - numbers
• How are they distributed? - distribution
• What are they doing? - activities
• What are their relationships with others & the 'environment'? – relationships
To be responsible we must ask of ourselves:
• How many is optimum?
• How should and shouldn’t we distribute ourselves?
• What should and shouldn’t we do?
• How should and shouldn’t we relate & interact with others & the environment (considering its ‘carrying capacity’ & ‘resilience’)?
It is not very complicated
If any species (including our own) has:
• high numbers
• highly aggregated distribution (located away from the resources it needs)
• highly consumptive & non-relational lifestyles
then it will:
• want & consume lots of resources
• have a high impact on the environment & relationships
and so, will eventually be unsustainable
the time taken to experience this will be shorter the lower the environment’s ‘carrying capacity & ‘resilience’
If a species has:
• low numbers
• is distributed close to the resources it needs
• has a conserver lifestyle: activities,
and lives in an environment with high ‘carrying capacity’ & ‘resilience’, which it builds up & maintains (biodiversity & bio-ecological processes: cycles, etc.)
then it should be able to live sustainably
