Ecology and Population

Description

Ecopop, short for Ecologie et Population, is a Swiss voluntary association founded in 1971 dedicated to preserving non-renewable resources and reducing overpopulation. It grew out of the early ecology movement and was inspired by the Club of Rome’s work on the limits of exponential population growth. It was originally called Arbeitsgruppe Bevölkerungsentwicklung and took its current name in 1987.

From the 1970s to the 2000s, Ecopop organized conferences and public discussions on population growth. It is a member of the European Population Alliance, founded in 2012.

In 2011 Ecopop’s general assembly launched a popular initiative to reduce population growth in Switzerland. The initiative proposed limiting net population growth from immigration to 0.2 percent of the population per year and directing at least 10 percent of Swiss federal development aid toward voluntary family planning programs. It was put to a nationwide vote in 2014 and rejected by voters.