Análise sobre crescimento populacional e transição demográfica: limites e divergências

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to understand why population growth is seen as a "threat" to environmental balance and to the well-being of the population. From a methodological point of view, the article used exploratory-qualitative research. That said, it was possible to conclude that the results achieved through the process of demographic transition in the world, as well as the population level achieved in the current scenario, indicate favoring the theory proposed by Ester Boserup in opposition to the theoretical assumptions of Thomas Robert Malthus. This is so, among other reasons, due to the drop in human mortality, which made possible a considerable populationincrease. In fact, Boserup's theory, in addition to constituting one of the great divergences from the Malthusian population growth theory, became important in attesting that population growth implies growth for the agricultural sector, culminating in an increase in food production, the which drives technological advancement through technical-productive improvement and “intensive cultivation”and, by itself,minimizes the impacts on natural resources and biodiversity by promoting sustainable land use.