Population growth

Indicator description

Changes in the number of people living in an area can have significant impacts on all aspects of the environment. For this reason, population factors are considered a key indicator for State of the Environment reporting.

Increases in human population, whether a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can place pressures on the Region's sustainability through impacts on many natural resources and social infrastructure. These can include removing the best available land from agricultural production for housing; impinging on areas of high ecological value; releasing polluted water into the natural system; and increased demands for energy and water.

Conversely, decreasing population size can be caused by fewer births than deaths, and by emigration. This can make it difficult to maintain existing services and infrastructure, and often the resources available for ecomanagement are also reduced.

Changes in population density affect not only the physical environment, but also the amount of privacy, space and noise experienced by residents. This in turn affects their heath and the social cohesion of a settlement. The method used to calculate population density should be stated because population density can be calculated in a number of ways.

Statistics for migration in or out, and birth and death rates, should be reported to allow an explanation for population changes to be provided.