My paper studied the relationship between violent conflict and environmental scarcity in Burundi. Specifically, the paper studies the lack of access to agricultural land that has resulted from exponential population growth and how this may have contributed to Burundi's history of ethnic conflict since Independence in 1961. The paper that was most closely related to this topic was Moushoumi Chaudhury's research on the Sahel. This area of the world also seems to be approaching its "limits" in terms of expansion of agricultural land. Many of the problems and the solutions suggested by the research would be applicable to Burundi as well. Further research on Burundi may also be aided by including a similar simulation model from Stella to determine what the actual limits of agricultural production and population growth might be, as well as what the results of possible policy implementations might be.

The most interesting research project in terms of providing solutions for areas experiencing high population densities was Daria Kim's paper about the Red River Delta region of Vietnam. The extremely high population densities (over 2000 people per square kilometer in some places!) in this area have been supported by extremely intensive and integrated agricultural systems. This type of technology is urgently needed in Africa where agricultural production has not been keeping pace with concurrent growth in population, as has been the case in the rest of the world. (See Chart.) Lessons on agricultural integration and intensive farming methods from this area of the world, while perhaps not directly applicable, may point the way to a solution for countries like Burundi.

John Callewaert's study of environmental justice in Michigan may seem to be very removed from research on violence and agricultural land in Burundi, but I am intrigued by the possibilities for analysis and possible political reform that might be manifested by the type of technology linking geographic information and social data used in this research. It is hard to imagine a more forceful representation or depiction of injustice than a map highlighting discrepancies in such a clear manner. Perhaps reform is a long way off in Burundi, but true change would focus on attempting to undue the wrongs that have occurred in the past. Data on ethnicity and ownership of land mapped over time, could, perhaps, help Burundians to achieve a more equitable distribution of resources.

The research conducted by Jeny Wegbreit on global climate change and Dengue fever raises interesting questions about the global environment and its effect on local populations. Changes in air emissions a continent away now may have dramatic consequences for illness in people in Trinidad and Tobago. For resource poor countries dependent upon agriculture, the implications of global climate change include not only changes in disease transmission rates, but also changes in agricultural systems and the productivity of the land. A net decrease in an agricultural system's productivity due to changes in precipitation, temperature, or the timing of cyclical season changes is not hard to imagine. The implications that naturally follow would be that the world should prepare for possible food shortages in much of the developing world if global climate change does occur.

All of the research for this class showed that first and foremost, populations and the environment are linked in relationship to each other. We have an impact upon the land as it has an impact upon us: careful monitoring of this relationship is crucial to preventing hardship and harm to ourselves and others. We must recognize now more than ever that we are not separate from the global environment, but rather that we live within it.