No. 139, May 2020 Sustainable Population Australia -- Newsletter Patrons: The Hon Bob Carr • Professor Ian Lowe • Professor Tim Flannery • Dr Katharine Betts • Dr Paul Collins travel more between regions and countries, infectious diseases COVID-19 and like Covid-19 spread. Indeed, a recent studyi from the University of Lincoln, UK, and Population York University, Canada, has shown that rapid urban expansion by Jenny Goldie at the periphery of cities is creating “new ecological niches” for the spread of infectious diseases. According to Science News, As the coronavirus crisis claimed the study shows these “suburban and ‘peri-urban’ areas are more victims in Australia, particularly more likely than cities to be the source of new and re-emerg- from amongst cruise ship passengers, ing infectious diseases... They are particularly vulnerable to dis- the words “Petri dish” became part of com- eases that jump the animal-to-human boundary (zoonosis), as mon language. Named for the German bacteriologist Julius they bring populations of humans and livestock into contact Richard Petri, it a shallow, circular dish used for culturing bacte- with displaced wildlife in a manner that does not happen in cit- ria and other microorganisms. Cruise ships, not least the hap- ies. They are often densely populated, poorly planned, lacking less Ruby Princess from which 2700 passengers were allowed to health infrastructure and out of sight of government authori- disembark in Sydney before being tested for Covid-19, came to ties.” be seen as large Petri dishes for the disease, which the World Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Pro- Health Organization declared a pandemic on 11 March. gramme, told the Guardianii in March that the immediate prior- Another cruise ship, the Diamond Princess, was placed in quar- ity was to protect people from the coronavirus and prevent its antine for a month while it was docked in Yokohama — which spread. “But our long-term response must tackle habitat and resulted in more than 700 passengers and crew becoming in- biodiversity loss,” she added. fected, and seven people dying. “Our continued erosion of wild spaces has brought us uncom- Australians have learnt a bit of geography along the way as fortably close to animals and plants that harbour diseases that well. How many of us knew about Wuhan in central China, a can jump to humans.” city with a population of 11 million people? Wuhan, even bigger “There are too many pressures at the same time on our natural than New York, but with people also housed in endless sky- systems and something has to give,” she added. “We are inti- scrapers. More Petri dishes. mately interconnected with nature, whether we like it or not. It is thought that the virus Covid-19 jumped to humans in Wu- If we don’t take care of nature, we can’t take care of ourselves. han’s so-called “wet markets,” where exotic animal meat has And as we hurtle towards a population of 10 billion people on long been readily available for sale. From just a few cases in this planet, we need to go into this future armed with nature as December 2019 in Wuhan, the virus spread rapidly around the our strongest ally.” world, though unevenly, with some cities and regions bearing i Creighton Connolly, Roger Keil, S. Harris Ali. Extended urbanisation and the brunt. Northern Italy was hit hard because Chinese work- the spatialities of infectious disease: Demographic change, infra- structure and governance. Urban Studies, 2020; 004209802091087 DOI: ers from clothing factories near Milan had been flying back and 10.1177/0042098020910873 forth between the two countries. In New York, 21 per cent of its ii Carrington, Damien: Coronavirus: ‘Nature is sending us a message’, says UN residents were infected by late April. environment chief. The Guardian, 25 March 2020. Covid-19 is a zoonotic disease, that is, it jumped from animals to humans. We can’t deny we weren’t warned. In its 2016 report, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) stated: “As the human population grows, ecosystems change. Forests are exploited for logging, landscapes are clear-cut for agriculture and mining interests, and the traditional buffer zones – once separat- ing humans from animals or from the pathogens that they har- bour – are notably reduced or lost.” It’s not just deforestation, of course. Active poaching and hunt- ing of wild species for food are still increasing due to growing demand for bushmeat. Then as people move from the country to cities, people are pushed into closer proximity, and as they Wuhan. Photo Getty images Newsletter - No. 139, May, 2020 Page 1 Opinion Infectious diseases are another unrecognised cost of high population by Eric Claus The metropolitan area of Wu- is encroaching into the living space of wild animals that han has 19 million people. The carry these viruses. There used to be buffer zones be- urban area of Wuhan has 11 tween where the wild animals lived and where humans million people living in a 1528 lived, but there isn’t enough space for that anymore. square kilometre area. The With world population forecast to increase from the population density of 7250 current 7.8 billion to 9.2 billion in 2040, it is likely that people per square kilometre is the buffer zones will continue to disappear. 17 times higher than Sydney’s Proponents of high population growth never take re- 423 people per square kilome- sponsibility for issues like the spread of infectious dis- tre. Many people think Sydney eases. They just say that is a bit of bad luck. Nothing to is crowded and congested, but do with us. our political leaders have us headed in the direction of Wu- Proponents of high population growth like the Business Council of Australia (BCA) say that increased population Eric Claus han. Imagine a city 17 times as crowded and congested as Syd- is “Good for the economy”. What they really mean is, ney and you’ve got the starting place for a pandemic. good for their economy, not yours and mine. They like increased population because they get the increased The way we combat the coronavirus is through social profits from selling to more people and increased prof- distancing. There is no social distancing in Wuhan. Ev- its from reduction in wages. When it comes to provid- erybody lives on top of each other. ing the infrastructure that is needed to provide gov- The SARS virus outbreak started in Guangdong prov- ernment services like roads, trainlines, hospitals and ince in China. The population density in Guangdong schools that the extra people need, the BCA says we province is 22 times higher than our most densely pop- should all help pay. ulated state Victoria. The whole province (111 million When there is more pollution from higher population people) is more densely populated than Metropolitan density, we all pay through higher government fees and Sydney. taxes, as well as through poorer health. Property Devel- After severe crowding, a second reason that the risk of opers and Retailers made big profits from higher popu- infectious diseases is increased with increased popula- lation. The average worker’s wages have been flat the tion is that the living space of the increasing population past 20 years, while corporate profits have boomed. FENNER CONFERENCE SPA AGM NOW SET POSTPONED FOR 23 MAY Last year, the Academy of Science gave SPA the The SPA AGM was originally set for 18 April 2020 in rights to hold the 2020 Fenner Conference on En- Adelaide, but as the coronavirus restrictions made vironment with the title “Making Australian agri- it evident that such a gathering would not be al- culture sustainable”. It was scheduled for 22-23 lowed, the national executive decided to move it October 2020. Because of coronavirus restrictions, to 24 October in Canberra, assuming many mem- however, the organising committee (including bers would be attending the Fenner Conference representatives from the two supporting organi- over the previous two days. Since then, however, sations, Regenerate Earth and the Frank Fenner the Fenner Conference itself has been postponed Foundation) requested the Academy to allow it to by nearly a year – to 30 September and 1 October postpone the conference. It duly agreed and the 2021. So, the national executive has duly resolved conference will now be held on 30 September and to hold the 2020 SPA AGM by Zoom at 11am 1 October 2021. A website is being set up in the Saturday 23 May. Financial members soon will meantime which will post articles from all speak- be informed of how to connect, and those with- ers over a six-month period, as a means of gener- out computers should be able to do so by smart ating interest in the conference and in the issue phone. JG itself. JG Newsletter - No. 139, May, 2020 Page 2 Opinion When proponents of high population say that increased There is some chance that the coronavirus events may population is “Good for the Economy”, they convenient- start to change the current short-term focus of the elec- ly ignore factors like crowded roads, crowded hospi- torate, because the negatives of the coronavirus are all tals, parks, schools and beaches. Travel times have in- too plain to see. Talk about recession and lockdowns creased by up to 60 per cent in Sydney, but that doesn’t all over the world, tend to focus the mind. There are go into the “Economy”; it just inconveniences the people almost as many stories about the negative economic who don’t benefit from high population. When there is impacts of the coronavirus as about the negative health more congestion, we all pay for that, but we didn’t get impacts.