The southwest Pacific island is of special interest because it appears to have achieved sustainable development. An island of 1.8 square miles and 1,200 inhabitants, it is described by Jared Diamond as being "micromanaged for continuous and sustainable food production" ¹

Tikopia's conservation methods have been developed over three thousand years, a period in which slash-and-burn agriculture was practiced and abandoned, bird and marine life have been overexploited, and pigs were raised until it was found they consumed more food than they provided - 10 pounds of vegetables for one pound of pork. Whereupon the islanders reached a collective decision to slaughter all pigs.

Population control is a key element in the island's stability. Over the millennia, infanticide, abortion, coital control, suicide and conflict have been the means of keeping the population level at about 1200 people. With western influence in the early 20th century, "reforms" led to a rapid increase, which was reversed by cyclones and starvation in 1952. Subsequent measures returned the numbers to their traditional level. This is a microcosmic illustration of how a progress trap can emerge and be averted. Tikopian agricultural methods are not modern, and according to scholars, ancient customs and traditions are proudly maintained. ^2  3
The islanders have a keen sense of their isolation. They are familiar with each other, with the island and its limited resources. Could this be the ideal size and population for a sustainable community?

In the developed world
Industrialized societies must learn what it is that leads Tikopians to readily stop a behaviour that threatens their continuity. It may be the proximity to nature that gives them awareness, it may be continuity of traditional culture, fast communication within a small group of people, or all of the above.

Exponential population growth, the main driver of progress and all its effects, can be curtailed. The choices for achieving this are difficult, yet there has never been greater opportunity than now for avoiding harsh outcomes that raise the death rate, as Malthus noted: extermination, epidemic and famine.

Moreover, in societies with modern economies and material comforts, reproduction rates tend to fall to replacement levels. True, the price of these comforts has been resource depletion, but there is every indication that peaceful means can be found for reconciling human needs and Nature's provenance.

Progresstrap.org is a companion site to the book Escaping the Progress Trap
by Daniel B. O'Leary

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