Thomas Malthus, in his 'Essay on Population' in 1798, argued that food production would not be able to keep pace with our capacity to produce, Contrary to this prediction there seems to be no evidence that our ability to produce food has been a lasting break on population growth. There are, however, several major areas of concern regarding environmental degradation associated with production having kept pace with demand. This paper examines some of the current drivers of development and environmental change. It identifies some of the impacts of growth and development on land use. soils, water availability and the possible consequences of climate change. Finally the paper returns to the question - will Malthus be proved right? (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
