Resources use linked with need to slow population growth

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan marked ‘World Population Day’ on Wednesday, 11 July, by calling for an integrated approach to slowing population growth in order that mankind could begin to “tread more lightly on the earth, and take steps towards better use of its resources.” The world’s population had doubled since 1960, to 6.1 billion, with most of that growth occurring in developing countries; since 1970, consumption had also doubled, with 86 per cent of that consumption coming in the developed world, Annan said. Human beings now consumed six times as much water as they did 70 years ago, while deforestation, pollution and emissions of carbon dioxide had reached unprecedented levels, altering the global climate, he said. “Humanity must solve a complex equation: we must stabilise our numbers, but, equally important, we must stabilise our use of resources and ensure sustainable development for all,” Annan added.

Whomen made up more than half the world’s agricultural workforce and typically managed household resources, yet they were often denied the right to learn, to own or inherit land, and to control their own fertility, according to Annan. “Enhancing women’s opportunities enables them to make informed choices about family size - and to break the vicious cycle of poverty and environmental degradation,” he said. Among the requirements of an integrated approach to reducing poverty, slowing population growth and protecting the environment were universal access to education and to reproductive health care and family planning, he added.