PERNILLA HANSSON SWEDEN
'A large part of my childhood was spent exploring nature, and I lamented the losses of natural land to the development of human-created landscapes. Even then I had a basic understanding of the limitations of population size, but it was not until I started working for The Overpopulation Project that I began to grasp the extent to which human population growth has impacted the planet. Humanity has pushed past planetary boundaries at the expense of the natural world that we are dependent on, the same nature that I love and grew up with. Yet it amazes me how relatively simple means, such as limiting our consumption, ensuring the human right of access to family planning, and proper education, can do so much for protecting nature while simultaneously leading to a more just society. The concept that we cannot have endless growth on a finite planet is not a complicated concept. It was something I could understand even as a child, and it is only when we seriously discuss this reality that progress can be made.'