Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorKopnina, Helen
dc.contributor.authorWashington, Haydn
dc.contributor.authorLowe, Ian
dc.contributor.authorIrvine, Sandy
dc.date.accessioned2020-08-06T06:09:35Z
dc.date.available2020-08-06T06:09:35Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.identifier.issn2365-6433
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s41207-019-0139-4
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/396266
dc.description.abstractAt present, leading international agencies such as the United Nations Environment Programme are largely focused on what they claim to be win–win scenarios of ‘sustainable development’ rhetoric. These combine social, economic and environmental objectives. However, as noted in the World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity, environmental integrity is essential for the healthy functioning of social and economic systems, and thus environmental protection needs to be prioritized in policy and practice. Ecological sustainability cannot be reached without realizing that population growth and economic growth, with attendant increased rates of depletion of natural resources, pollution and general environmental degradation, are the root causes of unsustainability. This article argues that to strategically address ecological unsustainability, the social, economic and political barriers to addressing the current economic model and population growth need to be overcome. Proposed strategic solutions to the current neoliberal economy are generic, namely degrowth, a steady-state economy, and a ‘circular economy’. Solutions to demographic issues must be sensitive to the countries’ cultural, social, political and economic factors to be effective, as fertility differs from country to country and from culture to culture. As discussed here, Mediterranean countries have the lowest fertilities in the world, while many countries in Africa and some in Asia and South America have stable but consistently high birthrates. This is discussed using three case studies—Tanzania, Italy and Cambodia, focusing on ‘best case’ policies that offer a more realistic hope for successful sustainability.
dc.description.peerreviewedYes
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherSpringer
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom4
dc.relation.ispartofissue1
dc.relation.ispartofjournalEuro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration
dc.relation.ispartofvolume5
dc.subject.fieldofresearchEnvironmental sciences
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode41
dc.subject.keywordsScience & Technology
dc.subject.keywordsLife Sciences & Biomedicine
dc.subject.keywordsCircular economy
dc.subject.keywordsEcology
dc.titleScientists' warning to humanity: strategic thinking on economic development, population, poverty and ecological sustainability in the Mediterranean and beyond
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.descriptionC1 - Articles
dcterms.bibliographicCitationKopnina, H; Washington, H; Lowe, I; Irvine, S, Scientists' warning to humanity: strategic thinking on economic development, population, poverty and ecological sustainability in the Mediterranean and beyond, Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration, 2020, 5 (1), pp. 4
dc.date.updated2020-08-06T06:07:41Z
gro.hasfulltextNo Full Text
gro.griffith.authorLowe, Ian


Files in this item

FilesSizeFormatView

There are no files associated with this item.

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

  • Journal articles
    Contains articles published by Griffith authors in scholarly journals.

Show simple item record