POPULATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT: POLLS, POLICIES, AND PUBLIC OPINION

Although recent academic and popular attention has argued for a wedding between population and environmental problems and policies, the scientific knowledge base for these topics has grown separately and at different rates. Environmental research has grown faster than population research, while the joint treatment of these topics remains in its infancy. International polls that have included many questions concerning environmental attitudes have included far fewer on population. The few surveys on population attitudes have ignored the environment. The World Fertility Survey and the Demographic and Health Survey are fertility, rather than population, surveys. They have been useful in precipitating national policies on family planning but are poor models for needed attitudinal and cognitive research on population and the environment. Some contemporary polls, such as the United Nations-sponsored poll conducted by the Louis Harris Agency, have serious methodological defects. Others, such as the 1992 Gallup poll, contain valuable data from which future surveys could profit. The conclusion outlines the need for a new multi-national survey of Population/Environment Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (PEKAP).Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

POPULATION, PROJECTIONS, AND POLICY: A CAUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE

Population projections depend on censuses, vital statistics, and sample surveys, all of which have deficiencies that are most marked in developing countries. Long-range projections by international agencies have recently undergone major revisions, and forecasts of the United States (U.S.) population have changed drastically over the past four years. The United Nations (UN) typically prepares high, medium, and low projections. Even the high projection contains optimistic assumptions about fertility decline, while assumptions of constant or increasing fertility receive no serious attention. This paper suggests that high and constant fertility projections should receive more attention from policymakers. They should treat medium estimates as targets achievable only through considerable programmatic effort. At the same time, they should plan economic and environmental efforts to deal with the population sizes implied by the high projections.Labor and Human Capital,

PARKS, POPULATION, AND RESETTLEMENT IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

A survey of 139 men and 123 women in four communities bordering Los Haitises National Park in the Dominican Republic took place in late 1992. The survey followed a presidential decree ordering the army to clear the forest of people and cattle and to resettle a number of villages. The survey found that people admitted using the forest for firewood and cash crop cultivation. However, they were aware of the need to conserve the forest and expressed willingness to compromise on its use. They were less aware of park boundaries and did not understand the concept of a national park. Villagers welcomed rapid population growth, and women favor (and have) large families despite high rates of sterilization. Nearly everyone opposed resettlement and favored community participation in programs to reduce pressures on the park. In addition to providing housing and services, a resettlement program will have to find adequate substitutes for current park activities that provide cash income. Of a battery of social indicators such as gender, age, or socio-economic status, few showed much relationship to park use or attitudes toward conservation, the exception being community and religion.Attitudes, Behavior, Gender, Knowledge, Park, Population, Resettlement, Survey, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

POPULATION, PROJECTIONS, AND POLICY: A CAUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE

Population projections depend on censuses, vital statistics, and sample surveys, all of which have deficiencies that are most marked in developing countries. Long-range projections by international agencies have recently undergone major revisions, and forecasts of the United States (U.S.) population have changed drastically over the past four years. The United Nations (UN) typically prepares high, medium, and low projections. Even the high projection contains optimistic assumptions about fertility decline, while assumptions of constant or increasing fertility receive no serious attention. This paper suggests that high and constant fertility projections should receive more attention from policymakers. They should treat medium estimates as targets achievable only through considerable programmatic effort. At the same time, they should plan economic and environmental efforts to deal with the population sizes implied by the high projections

POPULATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT: POLLS, POLICIES, AND PUBLIC OPINION

Although recent academic and popular attention has argued for a wedding between population and environmental problems and policies, the scientific knowledge base for these topics has grown separately and at different rates. Environmental research has grown faster than population research, while the joint treatment of these topics remains in its infancy. International polls that have included many questions concerning environmental attitudes have included far fewer on population. The few surveys on population attitudes have ignored the environment. The World Fertility Survey and the Demographic and Health Survey are fertility, rather than population, surveys. They have been useful in precipitating national policies on family planning but are poor models for needed attitudinal and cognitive research on population and the environment. Some contemporary polls, such as the United Nations-sponsored poll conducted by the Louis Harris Agency, have serious methodological defects. Others, such as the 1992 Gallup poll, contain valuable data from which future surveys could profit. The conclusion outlines the need for a new multi-national survey of Population/Environment Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (PEKAP)

PARKS, POPULATION, AND RESETTLEMENT IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

A survey of 139 men and 123 women in four communities bordering Los Haitises National Park in the Dominican Republic took place in late 1992. The survey followed a presidential decree ordering the army to clear the forest of people and cattle and to resettle a number of villages. The survey found that people admitted using the forest for firewood and cash crop cultivation. However, they were aware of the need to conserve the forest and expressed willingness to compromise on its use. They were less aware of park boundaries and did not understand the concept of a national park. Villagers welcomed rapid population growth, and women favor (and have) large families despite high rates of sterilization. Nearly everyone opposed resettlement and favored community participation in programs to reduce pressures on the park. In addition to providing housing and services, a resettlement program will have to find adequate substitutes for current park activities that provide cash income. Of a battery of social indicators such as gender, age, or socio-economic status, few showed much relationship to park use or attitudes toward conservation, the exception being community and religion