Bermuda is one of the most crowded pieces of land on the planet -- and it looks set to get even busier.

The Island is in the middle of a building boom and the economy, particularly international business, continues to grow with little sign of a slowdown.

The relatively tiny speck of rock is the most densely populated oceanic island in the world, with 3,032 people crammed into every one of its 22 square miles.

According to the Statistics Department, if the economy continues to grow at the current rate, a further 6,000 jobs will be created in ten years, the bulk of which will be filled by more expatriates coming to the Island.

People need homes, and with just 4,446 acres of protected open space left (37 per cent of the Island, excluding military land and the City of Hamilton), a debate is growing across the community about how many more people, if any, Bermuda can absorb without ruining the quality of life.

According to the 1992 Bermuda Plan, all current and future residential building must be contained within the 5,700 acres (48 percent) zoned for housing. But all of this will be reviewed when the new Bermuda plan comes out next year.

Chamber of Commerce President Cris Valdes Dapena said tough questions needed to be asked about the consequences for the Island if the economy continues to grow at the same rate as now.

Of the 35,000 jobs now, 19 percent or 6,750 are held by non-Bermudians. Ms Dapena said that as the Bermudian workforce would remain static by 2010, the extra 6,000 jobs would have to be filled by expatriates.

This will mean more people needing accommodation, more cars on already crowded roads, and greater demand on the Island's schools and hospitals.

Another knock-on effect of the influx of often well-paid expatriates is that rents soar ever upward, making accommodation too expensive for some working class Bermudians.

She said: "Are we measuring the right things? Are we regulating the right things? Are we regulating them in a way that is best for us and for our future? "As a community, do we even know what we want for a future. In my opinion, the answer to all of these things is `no'.'' Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson, while a supporter of international business, believes the Island is already "overburdened'' and that the quality of life will diminish if the population increases.

By overburdened, he means the Island currently does not have the infrastructure and housing to handle the number of people here.

In recent months, as Mr. Hodgson has raised the issue of "sustainable development'' -- balancing all the competing economic, social and demographic demands on the Island to reach an acceptable compromise -- people across the community have begun to grapple with the conundrum.

Mr. Hodgson says across the Island everyone is "coming on-board'' to join the debate about sustainable development.

On one point, at least, there is consensus: Bermuda is at a crossroads and fundamental and difficult decisions will need to be taken which will shape the Island's future.

Bermuda has few remaining open spaces and a key question emerging is: if the economy continues to grow, can the Island absorb more people without having to concrete over the remain green oases, thus diminishing the quality of life? Former Bermuda National Trust President Patsy Phillips said: "Any type of open space is very precious because we are so small and I genuinely believe there is no greater issue facing us.

"It is essential that we preserve these spaces because I believe it is important a child should grow up knowing what a cow looks like and to be able to see and grow fresh vegetables.'' Bermuda National Trust Environment Committee chair Edith Martin said: "Given that Bermuda is only 22 square miles and is reaching a critical mass in terms of population density, we need to start thinking differently.

"We can no longer naively assume that we can continue to build on our scarce undeveloped land.'' Opinion is divided about whether the Island's population can grow without compromising the quality of life.

According to environmentalists Stuart Hayward and Graeme Outerbridge, Government needs to take a radical look at the fundamental way the economy works and what people consume.

They believe Government must reject the idea of economic growth for its own sake, and the resulting extra consumer consumption. Mr. Outerbridge favours "shrinkage'' -- whereby Government would not automatically seek to attract a new company to the Island if one closes.

"There should be a policy of containment and downsizing,'' he said. "That's the philosophical part of the question but it is an inexact science and it is a very difficult balancing act. It is a balance between reality and imagination.'' Mr. Hayward, a former independent MP, said: "How do we reduce our need for more development? How do we become more efficient users of all our resources so that we begin to understand sustainable development is an oxymoron.

Sustainability and growth are not compatible.'' For him, the value of open space is incalculable, but he is reluctant to totally rule out building on open spaces because there may be some circumstances where it is needed.

But he says: "What concerns me is the quality of life not the standard. That is the thing that is hurting now. Young people are not enjoying this place.

"When I was young I burned up energy by climbing trees and running without stopping. As open space diminishes the size of each person's lot of land diminishes the ability of each child to burn off that energy, which they are biologically designed for.

"The result is that our kids tend to be more stressed out, more restless, less easily disciplined. That result isn't even being linked to building on open spaces, but it needs to be.'' Government Conservation Officer David Wingate said: "Government has to address the needs of the population rather than the wants, which are very different. A lot of people have very high expectations and want a lot more than is economically sustainable.'' Shrinking open spaces "Government should be looking at people's needs, health and housing, but shouldn't be addressing swimming pools for every house and luxury over and above that, or bigger cars.'' Government believes e-commerce is one way of continuing the economic boom without needing to create many more jobs. Those jobs created, though, are high quality.

For leading realtor Buddy Rego, continued growth is possible without ruining the Island, but only if the remaining land is used to maximum efficiency.

"Bermuda is a burgeoning workplace and we do have room to house more workers,'' he said. "Efficient use of property that has been zoned for higher density development will be the key. It is a forward planning issue.'' One of the challenges facing a Government which wants to preserve open spaces is to persuade residents who own plots of land worth a small fortune in development terms, not to build.

So what can Government do to persuade people not to build to preserve the environment? Calling for a fundamentally different approach to the problems, Mr. Hayward quotes the father of modern physics, Albert Einstein, who said: "We can't use the thinking it took us to get into these problems to get us out of them''.

Tomorrow, Bermuda at the Crossroads will look at the different solutions being offered to preserve open spaces and competing suggestions about dealing with the population explosion.