Population, Development, and Environment (PDE): Earlier Case Studies

(1) YUCATÁN PENINSULA, Mexico

The study was conducted in collaboration with scientists from IIASA and CINVESTAV (Unidad Mérida). The project received partial funding from the UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), and lasted only from January 1996 to July 1996 due to the cancellation of funding by the UNFPA.

Wolfgang Lutz, Lionel Prieto, and Warren Sanderson, Eds.
Population, Development and Environment on the Yucatán Peninsula: From Ancient Maya to 2030
Laxenburg, Austria: IIASA, Research Report, July 2000, RR-00-14, 257 pp.

The report is available from IIASA for a handling charge of US $20. To order a hard copy from IIASA, click here. For further information and instructions on how to order, visit the Publications Department; or download the complete document in PDF or PS format, and click here to read the the book summary.

Project Contact: Wolfgang Lutz (lutz@iiasa.ac.at)

Other IIASA publications of the Yucatan project:

• P.P.A.A.H. Kandelaars. 1997. A Dynamic Simulation Model of Tourism and Environment in the Yucatan Peninsula. Laxenburg, Austria: IIASA, IR-97-018.
• L. Prieto. 1997. An Overview of Some Population-Development-Environment Interactions in Mexico. Laxenburg, Austria: IIASA, IR-97-053.

(2) CAPE VERDE

Project duration: March 1994 to February 1995.

A. Wils. 1996.
PDE-Cape Verde: A Systems Study of Population, Development, and Environment.
Laxenburg, Austria: IIASA, WP-96-009.

This study is a holistic analysis of population, socio-economic development and the environment (PDE) in a case study of an arid island state, Cape Verde. It describes and analyzes the dynamics of: how population leads to economic reaction; how economic activities are shaped and/or constrained by the natural environment; how the environment influences the population and its society.

The study rests on two tiers of research. The first is a historical analysis of the case country with qualitative and statistical detail, contained in five chapters: history; population; social factors; economy; and environment. It includes a demographic method to analyze effects of mortality increase; and to estimate migration and fertility. The second tier is simulation modeling, contained in three chapters: on other models; the PDE model; and the scenarios. The PDE simulation model combines multi-state population projection; a semi-equilibrium input-output model; and a water and agricultural model. The model is used to make a historical scenario and future scenarios of the case country. This dual approach combines the detail and the nuances which are visible to the human mind's interpretation of a field of facts with the mathematical consistency that the computer contributes.

A study of Cape Verde provides insights the role of emigration, remittances and foreign aid in development. It also analyzes the effects of having a pool of fixed renewable natural resources (rain-water) and of competition in an economy that is largely determined by external forces. It shows some dynamics of limitation that can be over-looked in the study of larger countries, but which are present in some form in every region.

Hardcopies are priced at a handling charge of US$ 20; to order the report from IIASA, click here. For further information and instructions on how to order, visit the Publications Department.

Project Contact: Annababette Wils (awils@world.std.com)

(3) MAURITIUS

Project duration: 1993 to 1995, UNFPA-funded

Lutz, Wolfgang (ed.). 1994.
Population-Development-Environment: Understanding Their Interactions in Mauritius.
Berlin/Heidelberg/New York: Springer-Verlag, [ISBN 3-540-58301-7], 400 pp.

The development in the island state of Mauritius over the past 30 years can serve as an example of how adverse conditions can be overcome. In the early 1960s Mauritius was trying to cope with rapid population growth, extreme poverty, and grim economic prospects. In 1990 the situation was radically different. Although population density had increased, total fertility had dropped dramatically and the GNP per capita had risen to $2310. Economic stagnation had been replaced by steady growth and full employment, and environmental problems were being addressed as issues of high priority. These developments attracted IIASA's attention. With the assistance of the UN Population Fund and the cooperation of the Government of Mauritius, IIASA and the University of Mauritius set out to develop a computer-based model to demonstrate the interaction among population dynamics, socioeconomic development, and environmental factors. This book provides a detailed report of their findings.

Project Contact: Wolfgang Lutz (lutz@iiasa.ac.at)

Responsible for this page:Suchitra Subramanian
Last updated: 05 Sep 2011