As the world's population exceeds an incredible 6 billion people, governments—and scientists—everywhere are concerned about the prospects for sustainable development. The science academies of the three most populous countries have joined forces in an unprecedented effort to understand the linkage between population growth and land-use change, and its implications for the future. By examining six sites ranging from agricultural to intensely urban to areas in transition, the multinational study panel asks how population growth and consumption directly cause land-use change, and explore the general nature of the forces driving the transformations.

Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes explains how disparate government policies with unintended consequences and globalization effects that link local land-use changes to consumption patterns and labor policies in distant countries can be far more influential than simple numerical population increases. Recognizing the importance of these linkages can be a significant step toward more effective environmental management.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
Executive Summary
Part I. Population and Land Use in India, China, and the United States: Context, Observations, and Findings
1. Introduction to the Tri-Academy Project
2. Elements of Population Growth
3. Land Use Change in Space and Time
4. Findings and Observations of the Tri-Academy Project
Part II. India
Indian Case Studies: An Introduction
5. Population and Land Use in Kerala
6. Population and Land Use in Haryana
7. Gender Dimensions of the Relationship between Population and Land Use in the Indian States of Kerala and Haryana
Part III. China
Chinese Case Studies: An Introduction
8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province
9. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Pearl River Delta, Guangdong Province
Part IV. United States
U.S. Case Studies: An Introduction
10. Transformation of the South Florida Landscape
11. Evolution of the Chicago Landscape: Population Dynamics, Economic Development, and Land Use Change