ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes some of the essential perspectives on the population-environment debate and suggests research directions that flow from them. Population must not be reified as if the simple numbers of human bodies were all that mattered. Rethinking the population-environment debate means more than redefining the terms. The impact of population growth on global processes cannot be predicted a priori but needs to emerge empirically in each research situation. The relationships are often reciprocal and circular. Consumption of natural resources may increase with population growth, with development expectations or with artificially-created needs, leading to greater conflict over scarce resources. The gender dimension of environmental transformation is only beginning to be adequately investigated. Women are taking on the new tasks of gathering and processing of forest products, for example, as markets for these products are proposed as a curb on deforestation.
