Information on Population, Environment, and Sustainable Development
Missing the Forest: A Position Paper About the Need to Keep Environment on the Population and Development Agenda, prepared in 2004 by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF)
- Promoting the Millennium Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific
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- Population in Sustainable Development: Analyses, Goals, Actions, Realities: 2002 report by the Global Science Panel on Population and Environment
- Critical Links: Population, Health, and the Environment—September 2003 issue of Population Bulletin, published by the Population Reference Bureau
- Water Deficits Growing in Many Countries: Water Shortages May Cause Food Shortages
- Population Policies of the Sierra Club
Report by the Global Science Panel on Population and Environment
The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), and the United Nations University have sponsored a comprehensive scientific assessment of the role of population in sustainable development strategies. The analysis was conducted by a Global Science Panel of more than 30 distinguished scientists under the joint patronage of Maurice Strong and Nafis Sadik. Thier aim was to produce a science-based statement as input to the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development.
The 20-page assessment report highlights the decisions made and goals set at international conferences over the past three decades. It presents a graphical analysis of the progress made—or lack thereof. The analysis covers key aspects of population, education, health, poverty, and hunger that are at the core of achieving sustainable development. The report highlights the need to move from rhetoric and political goals to real action for sustainable development.
The report is available here in pdf format. For more information about the Global Science Panel, including the complete text of the background papers, see: http://www.iiasa.ac.at/gsp/
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Water Deficits Growing in Many Countries: Water Shortages May Cause Food Shortages
by Lester Brown, Earth Policy Institute, 6 August 2002
The world is incurring a vast water deficit. It is largely invisible, historically recent, and growing fast. Because this impending crisis typically takes the form of aquifer overpumping and falling water tables, it is not visible. Unlike burning forests or invading sand dunes, falling water tables cannot be readily photographed. They are often discovered only when wells go dry.
The world water deficit is recent-a product of the tripling of water demand over the last half-century and the rapid worldwide spread of powerful diesel and electrically driven pumps. The drilling of millions of wells has pushed water withdrawals beyond the recharge of many aquifers. The failure of governments to limit pumping to the sustainable yield of aquifers means that water tables are now falling in scores of countries.
We are consuming water that belongs to future generations. In some countries, the fall of water tables is dramatic. In Yemen, a country of 19 million, the water table under most of the country is falling by roughly 2 meters a year as water use far exceeds the sustainable yield of aquifers. World Bank official Christopher Ward observes that "groundwater is being mined at such a rate that parts of the rural economy could disappear within a generation."
In the basin where the capital, Sana'a, is located and where the water table is falling 6 meters (nearly 20 feet) per year, the aquifer will be depleted by the end of this decade. In the search for water, the Yemeni government has drilled test wells in the basin that are 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) deep, depths normally associated with the oil industry, but they have failed to find water. Yemen must soon decide whether to bring water to Sana'a, possibly from coastal desalting plants, or to relocate the capital.
Iran, a country of 70 million people, is facing an acute shortage of water. Under the agriculturally rich Chenaran Plain in northeastern Iran, the water table was falling by 2.8 meters a year in the late 1990s. But in 2001 the cumulative effect of a three-year drought and the new wells being drilled both for irrigation and to supply the nearby city of Mashad dropped the aquifer by an extraordinary 8 meters. Villages in eastern Iran are being abandoned as wells go dry, generating a swelling flow of water refugees. (See http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update15.htm for additional examples.)
Shortages of water in Egypt, which is entirely dependent on the Nile River, are well known. With the Nile now reduced to a trickle as it enters the Mediterranean, the three principal countries of the Nile River Basin—Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan—can each increase its take from the river only at the expense of the other two. With the combined population of these countries projected to climb from 167 million today to 264 million in 2025, all three are facing growing grain deficits as a result of water shortages.
In Mexico—home to 104 million people and growing by 2 million per year—the demand for water has outstripped supply in many states. In the agricultural state of Guanajuato, for example, the water table is falling by 1.8–3.3 meters a year. Mexico City's water problems are legendary. How the United States and Mexico share the water of the Rio Grande has become a thorny issue in U.S.-Mexican relations.
A World Bank study of the water balance in the North China Plain calculated an annual deficit of 37 billion tons of water. Using the rule of thumb of 1,000 tons of water to produce 1 ton of grain, this is equal to 37 million tons of grain-enough to feed 111 million Chinese at their current level of consumption. In effect, 111 million Chinese are being fed with grain produced with water that belongs to their children. Scores of other countries are running up regional water deficits, including nearly all of those in Central Asia, the Middle East, and
North Africa, plus India, Pakistan, and the United States.
Historically, water shortages were local, but in an increasingly integrated world economy, the shortfalls can cross national boundaries via the international grain trade. Water-scarce countries often satisfy the growing needs of cities and industry by diverting water from irrigation and importing grain to offset the resulting loss of production. Since a ton of grain equals 1,000 tons of water, importing grain is the most efficient way to import water. World grain futures will soon in effect become world water futures.
Although military conflicts over water are always a possibility, future competition for water seems more likely to take place in world grain markets. This can be seen with Iran and Egypt, both of which now import more wheat than Japan, traditionally the world's leading importer. Imports supply 40 percent or more of the total consumption of grain—wheat, rice, and feedgrains—in both countries. Numerous other water-short countries also import much of their grain. Morocco brings in half of its grain. For Algeria and Saudi Arabia, the figure is over 70 percent. Yemen imports nearly 80 percent of its grain, and Israel, more than 90 percent.
Seventy percent of world water use, including all the water diverted from rivers and pumped from underground, is used for irrigation, 20 percent is used by industry, and 10 percent goes to residences. Thus if the world is facing a water shortage, it is also facing a food shortage. Water deficits, which are already spurring heavy grain imports in numerous smaller countries, may soon do the same in larger countries, such as China or India.
Even with the overpumping of its aquifers, China is developing a grain deficit. After rising to an historical peak of 392 million tons in 1998, grain production in the world's largest nation fell below 350 million tons in 2000, 2001, and 2002. The resulting annual deficits of 40 million tons or so have been filled by drawing down the country's extensive grain reserves. But if this situation continues, China soon will be forced to turn to the world grain market.
When this happens, it will almost certainly drive grain prices upward. Remember that when the Soviets decided after a poor harvest in 1972 to import grain rather than tighten their belts, the world wheat price climbed from $1.90 per bushel in 1972 to $4.89 in 1974.
The two keys to stabilizing aquifers are raising water prices and stabilizing population. The first step is to eliminate the pervasive subsidies that create artificially low prices for water in so many countries. The next is to raise water prices to the point where they will reduce pumping to a sustainable level by raising water productivity and reducing water use in all segments of society. Low-income urban consumers can be protected with "lifeline rates" that provide for basic needs at an affordable price. Prices of underground water can be raised by installing meters on pumps and charging for water as Mexico has done or by auctioning permits to operate wells. Either way, water prices rise.
The second key is to quickly stabilize population in water-short countries. Most of the 3 billion people projected to be added worldwide by mid-century will be born in countries already experiencing water shortages. Unless population growth can be slowed quickly by investing heavily in female literacy and family planning services, there may not be a humane solution to the emerging world water shortage.
Additional data and information sources are available at http://www.earth-policy.org. For more information on water shortages see chapter 2 of Eco-economy: Building an economy for the earth at http://www.earth-policy.org/Books.index.htm.
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Population Policies of the Sierra Club
Population and the Environment
The "population explosion" has severely disturbed the ecological relationships between human beings and the environment. It has caused an increasing scarcity of wilderness and wildlife and has impaired the beauty of whole regions, as well as reducing the standards and the quality of living. In recognition of the growing magnitude of this conservation issue, the Sierra Club supports a greatly increased program of education on the need for population control. (adopted by the Board of Directors, March 13, 1965; amended July 8, 1995)
Population Policy
The Sierra Club endorses the objectives of legislation to establish federal machinery to deal with the problems of rapid human population growth ... (adopted by the Board of Directors, March 13, 1966)
Slowing US Population Growth
The Sierra Club urges the people of the United States to abandon population growth as a pattern and goal; to commit themselves to limit the total population of the United States in order to achieve balance between population and resources; and to achieve a stable population no later than the year 1990. (adopted by the Board of Directors, May 3-4, 1969)
The Sierra Club urges that the United States and each of its individual states and lesser political entities abandon all policies, projects, or programs, including tax exemptions, designed to foster, subsidize or promote population growth.
The Sierra Club urges that the United States and each of its individual states and lesser political entities actively promote educational processes aimed at stabilizing the population within the earliest possible time.
The Sierra Club urges that the United States condition the granting of all economic foreign aid on the actual implementation of birth control programs in each of the foreign countries receiving such aid and that wherever possible economic foreign aid be given primarily for the purpose of funding such control programs and not for purposes which actually compete with the fundamental need to limit population growth.
The Sierra Club urges that each of the individual states of the United States legalize abortion. (adopted by the Board of Directors, September 20-11, 1969)
Population and Environment
The Sierra Club endorses [the following] resolution from the organization Zero Population Growth concerning measures to inhibit population growth. In essence, the resolution parallels an earlier Sierra Club statement of policy:
- Whereas, every human being and every American, present and future, has a right to a world with a healthy environment, clean air and water, uncluttered land, adequate food, sufficient open space, natural beauty, wilderness and wildlife in variety and abundance, and an opportunity to gain an appreciation of the natural world and our place in it through firsthand experience, and
- Whereas, population growth is directly involved in the pollution and degradation of our environment—air, water and land—and intensifies physical, psychological, social, political, and economic problems to the extent that the well-being of individuals, the stability of society, and our very survival are threatened, and
- Whereas, human populations are making ever increasing demands upon irreplaceable natural materials and energy sources, and
- Whereas, the protection of the quality of our environment is impossible in the face of the present rate of population growth, including that in the United States, despite the advanced state of technology and the growing affluence of some segments of human society,
Be it resolved by the undersigned organizations:
- That we must find, encourage, and implement at the earliest possible time the necessary policies, attitudes, social standards, and actions that will, by voluntary and humane means consistent with human rights and individual conscience, bring about the stabilization of the population first of the United States and then of the world;
- That pursuant to this goal, families should not have more than two natural children and adoption should be encouraged;
- That state and federal laws should be changed to encourage small families and to discourage large families;
- That laws, policies, and attitudes that foster population growth or big families, or that restrict abortion and contraception, or that attempt to constrict the roles of men and women, should be abandoned;
- That comprehensive and realistic birth-control programs should be available to every member of our society;
- That environmental, population, and sex education should be readily available;
- That there should be increased research into the sociology of population stabilization and into the improvement of contraceptive technology;
- That private and governmental departments, commissions, and committees should be created to deal effectively with the population problem; and
- That the foreign policy of the United States should reflect the urgent realities of the population-environment crisis.
(adopted by the Board of Directors, June 4, 1970; amended July 8, 1995)
World Population Year
The Sierra Club welcomes the deliberations of the World Population Year Conference to convene in Bucharest in August 1974, and urges participating nations to support an action plan designed to cope with problems related to population levels.
The Sierra Club is concerned with the quality of life for all humanity. Further unrestricted population growth will have unavoidable adverse effects on present and future living standards and particularly will act to prevent improvements of standards of living and intensify conditions of overcrowding and hunger for millions in developing nations.
Excessive population density intensifies every environmental problem associated with lack of adequate living space, lack of sufficient vital natural resources, and the disposition of wastes. These environmental problems include the poisoning of air, water and land resources; insufficient production of the food and energy necessary to sustain life; and increased susceptibility to disease arising from the debilitating effect of this pollution and resource exhaustion.
The Earth's limited reserves of arable and habitable land, as well as mineral and energy resources, are already being so severely strained by the existing population that it is clear that increased population growth threatens our survival as a civilized species. Food and resource scarcity complicates the inequitable allocation of these resources, promotes competition for these resources, promotes competition between nations, and can lead to destructive economic and military conflict.
Increased population density creates environmental problems that transcend national boundaries. Accordingly, regulation of population growth within nations is a proper subject for policy formulation and other action by the United Nations.
Therefore, the Sierra Club resolves that:
- The aim of policies adopted by the United Nations Conference on Population should be that world population should be reduced to a level no greater than the carrying capacity of the Earth.
- All individuals should be assured the ability to control reproduction by the availability of information and facilities, where needed, for the whole range of reproductive control. Technical assistance should be available to nations requesting it from the United Nations.
- An intensive and broad-based educational program should be instituted, directed at persons in all countries, regardless of economic or educational level, designed to increase their awareness of the direct relationship between large family size and the adverse consequences of excessive population growth, and the material advantages to existing and future world populations of restraint on growth.
- A full discussion should be had of the issues of racial or national genocide. The Sierra Club believes that restraints on population growth are not incompatible with a rational worldwide control over the distribution and use of vital resources and that they do not constitute a threat of national or racial genocide. The Sierra Club recommends that all nations, including developed nations, help to formulate and participate in international programs designed to curb population growth.
- Population growth already overburdens parks, preserves, and other recreational facilities. The continued enjoyment of natural areas without irreparably impairing those areas depends on formulation of careful policies for population reduction and proper land use.
The Sierra Club makes the following specific recommendations for action:
- The United Nations Conference on Population should urge that all national programs that provide incentives to large families (tax relief, financial assistance, etc.) be replaced with programs encouraging small families.
- Each nation should be urged to create a national population commission to formulate policy on population-growth restraint and implement any programs that may be developed.
- The United Nations or another appropriate international agency should expand and create a continuing program for the effective collection and dissemination of data on population-growth trends and densities, as well as the relation of such data to problems of resource allocation and conservation.
They should develop and to the extent possible: (a) implement large-scale educational programs on the hazards of unrestrained growth and on the mechanisms of contraception and family planning; (b) conduct research on contraceptive techniques; and (c) train personnel to carry out the foregoing.
- Those countries with the available resources should be urged to contribute funds to defray the cost of population growth restraint programs initiated by less affluent nations and by international agencies.
- Achievement of these ends should be made a top priority for United Nations action at all levels, including formulation of concrete programs for national implementation and funding. If the above goals are immediately pursued on an international level, we believe that population reduction may be achieved by voluntary controls on reproduction.
(adopted by the Board of Directors, May 4-5, 1974; amended July 8, 1995)
Slowing Global Population Growth
The Sierra Club reaffirms its dedication and its conviction that:
- All nations of the world, including developed nations, should formulate and participate in programs designed to curb their own population growth, and
- All developed nations, including the United States, being the countries with impact on the world environment disproportionate to their population sizes, have an obligation both to end their population growth as soon as feasible and to substantially reduce their consumption of this planet's non-renewable resources.
(adopted by the Board of Directors, May 6-7, 1978)
U.S. Population Policy
The Sierra Club supports the development by the federal government of a population policy for the United States, as a means of articulating national goals and coordinating federal efforts to achieve those goals. (adopted by the Board of Directors, May 6-7, 1978)
Immigration
The Sierra Club urges Congress to conduct a thorough examination of U.S. immigration laws, policies, and practices. This analysis should include discussion of:
- The impact of immigration of different levels on population trends in the United States,
- The disproportionate burden on certain states, and
- The effect of immigration to the U.S. on population growth and environmental quality in this country.
Substantial international migration, whether legal or illegal, arises to a great extent from the growing desperation in many societies of the world. With world population increasing at more than 70 million per year, it is clear that international migration can make only an insignificant contribution to easing world population pressures.
Currently, only the U.S., Canada, and Australia among all countries accept more than a handful of permanent immigrants. All regions of the world must reach a balance between their populations and resources. Developing countries need to enlarge opportunities for their own residents, thus increasing well-being, eventually lessening population growth rates, and reducing the pressures to emigrate.
Developed nations must work towards greater conservation of resources as well as population stabilization in order to reduce impact on depletion of non-renewable resources, creation of pollution, and damage to ecosystems. This combination would remove the root causes of international migration, by providing more equitable opportunities for people throughout the world.
A major challenge facing the United States is to help influence the world in this direction. The U.S. foreign assistance program and other U.S. international activities can be major means to address such concerns.
Therefore, the Sierra Club urges continuing review of U.S. foreign policy and foreign assistance programs to ensure that their efforts enhance reduction in population growth rates, improve environmental protection, and further environmentally sound development in all countries of the world. (adopted by the Board of Directors, May 6-7, 1978)
Birth Control
The Sierra Club supports legislative efforts to expand birth control services and research. (adopted by the Board of Directors, May 6-7, 1978)
Immigration
The Board of Directors finds that under existing Sierra Club population policies:
The Sierra Club advocates reductions in the population of the United States and the world.
The Sierra Club will pursue this objective by vigorous implementation of the membership vote in the spring of 1998, which stated that:
"The Sierra Club reaffirms its commitment to addressing the root causes of global population problems and offers the following comprehensive approach:
- The Sierra Club will build upon its effective efforts to champion the right of all families to maternal and reproductive health care, and the empowerment and equity of women.
- The Sierra Club will continue to address the root causes of migration by encouraging sustainability, economic security, human rights and environmentally responsible consumption.
- The Sierra Club supports the decision of the Board of Directors to take no position on U.S. immigration levels and policies."
(adopted by the Board of Directors, September 25-26, 1999)
Reaching Millennium Goals in Asia
Date Posted: 21 October 2003
Source: The Communication Initiative summarized from
Promoting the Millennium Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific
This study analysed the prospects, challenges and opportunities for attaining the MDGs by 2015 in Asia and the Pacific. Below are some of its findings on progress for selected targets using 1990 as a base year:
| Targets |
Prognosis |
Likelihood |
| Halve the proportion of people living on less than one dollar a day |
Very good |
Very probable |
| Ensure that boys and girls will be able to complete primary schooling |
Slow |
Unlikely |
| Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education |
Good |
Probable |
| Reduce under-5 mortality rates by 66% |
Modest |
Unlikely |
| Reduce maternal mortality ratio by 75% |
Poor |
Unlikely |
| Reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and other major diseases |
Modest
|
Possible |
Integrate sustainable development into country
policies and reverse environmental resource loss |
Poor |
Unlikely |
| Halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water |
Modest |
Unlikely |
