Wollongong Case Study Applies Nationwide
Media Release - DPS 12/96
The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs today released a report which examines the effects of population change and economic development on the environment in a regional setting.
The report, Population-Economy-Environment Relationships in the Wollongong Region, has been written by Richard Cardew and Trish Fanning from the Graduate School of the Environment at Sydney's Macquarie University. The authors are experts in environmental and urban analysis.
While the authors used the Wollongong region as a case study, their findings can be applied to many different regions in Australia.
By analysing the region's historical development, they identified patterns of demographic and economic change that have occurred over time and which have had an impact on Wollongong's natural environment.
They noted that a growing population in the region had coincided with a range of environmental remediation efforts, and concluded that management of urban growth and economic development is of critical importance to protect the environment.
The report notes that the population/environment debate has been oversimplified because different elements of population growth and economic development have different impacts on the environment - some positive, some negative.
Cardew and Fanning include in the report a framework they developed to assist policy makers in dealing with demographic, economic and environmental development issues.
Canberra, 8 November 1996
Media contact: Richard Cardew - tel (02) 9850 7978, fax (02) 9850 7972