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Population, environment and sustainability: Reconstructing the debate
Author(s) -
Dovers Stephen R.,
Norton Tony W.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
sustainable development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.115
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1099-1719
pISSN - 0968-0802
DOI - 10.1002/sd.3460020101
Subject(s) - sustainability , ignorance , sustainable development , environmental ethics , set (abstract data type) , population , social sustainability , sociology , consumption (sociology) , environmental resource management , management science , epistemology , political science , social science , economics , ecology , computer science , philosophy , law , demography , biology , programming language
This article seeks to integrate the population‐environment and sustainable development debates within an integrative approach to sustainability. Reference is made to both global and Australian situations. Common constructions of the debates are briefly critiqued. These issues are addressed via an integrative approach to sustainability, which is described through definitions that differentiate sustainability and sustainable development, and a set of principles that support these definitions. The principles include: extending temporal and spatial scales, appreciation of pervasive ignorance and uncertainty, the need for long term social and ecological goals, and greater cognisance of consumption (demand) aspects.