Implications of economic structural adjustment programme on population and environment: the case of Shamva District

Abstract

The Government in 1990 introduced the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) in order to improve the lives of the people through a framework of economic management and sustainable development. In the context of sustainable development, there is an old time problem of the separation between environment and economics in the development of the country. Sustainable development is "development which meets the needs of this generation without compromising the needs of future generations". Where environment and economic development are not syncronised because the environment is not given a value in economic terms, and hence ignored in planning, this exacerbates the problem of environmental degradation. Thus, less developed countries face the challenge of alleviating poverty and increasing welfare while at the same time ensuring that the carrying capacity of the environment is not exceeded. The objective of this study is to show the relationship that exists between population and the environment, and determine the role played by the developmental policy of Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) on the concerned population and consequently on the environment.