Second, the technologies in use determine both the extent to which human activities damage or sustain the environment and the amount of waste associated with a given level of consumption. Poverty may prevent the adoption of more appropriate technologies that could halt or slow down environmental degradation. These two factors determine the impact on individuals. Inequality enters as a third factor when, for example, most land is in large holdings and the poor are forced to live on smallholdings or in marginal areas. A fourth factor, population, acts as the multiplier that determines the total impact.
Population is always part of the equation.
For any given type of technology, level of consumption or waste and poverty or inequality, the more people there are, the greater the impact on the environment is and, in turn, the greater the impact on food production capacity will be. Land fragmentation affects food production and is a direct result of rapid population growth in many poor countries. Alternatively, land is sold to wealthier landowners, making land distribution more uneven and adding to the creation of a large pool of landless labourers. The result of such practices is severe land degradation. A way ahead Population pressures continue to tip the balance against proper land and water management in many developing countries.