Sir - In response to John Phillpott's recent comments on population size, the Green Party is very concerned about the effect that the present human population is having on the earth's biodiversity. Any increase in population will inevitably lead to further habitat loss and extinctions of plant and animal life, and the effects of climate change will only make matters worse.

The Green Party believes that world population can only be reduced by tackling the factors that make poor people want to leave their homes and come to richer countries like the UK. We need to work with organisations like the United Nations to reduce debt and rebalance trade agreements with primary producing countries, so that they can trade their way out of poverty, so reducing pressures on immigration.

With regard to the UK population, we need to encourage smaller families, and be able to motivate, educate and value all our people, so that we have all the skilled people that we need. If we don't, in just a few generations, there may not be enough land to grow food for everyone, and the open spaces that we have enjoyed may not be there for our descendants.

Robert Burkett

Worcester Green Party