Population pressures contributing to environmental damage; slower population growth in developing countries needed.Population pressures are contributing to global environmental damage. That is the main message of the 1988 State of World Population report issued in May by the United Nations Population Fund The United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) began funding population programs in 1969. It was renamed the United Nations Population Fund in 1987, but kept its original abbreviation. (UNFPA UNFPA United Nations Population Fund (formerly United Nations Fund for Population Activities) UNFPA United Nations Fund for Population Activities (now United Nations Population Fund) ). Although it admits that not enough is known of the complex relationships between population, resources and the environment, the report asserts that it is nevertheless clear that high fertility and rapidpopulation growth are contributing to the damage. Slower growth and more even distribution of population in the developing countries would help to take pressure off agricultural lands, energy sources, vital watersheds and forest areas. Rapid population growth, giant cities and the tide of international migration are the result of millions of decisions by individuals, the report says. Much of the damage to the resource base is also the consequence of individual decisions-to cultivate marginal land for example, to strip hillsides of trees for firewood, to graze land already showing signs of exhaustion. "But frequently the agents of destruction have little real choice, They are driven by poverty or the decisions of others", the report stresses. Women's central role in both population and conservation of resources Conservation of resources Management of the human use of natural resources to provide the maximum benefit to current generations while maintaining capacity to meet the needs of future generations. is stressed. In developing countries women are frequently the more important actors in rural economy. Sustainable development Sustainable development is a socio-ecological process characterized by the fulfilment of human needs while maintaining the quality of the natural environment indefinitely. The linkage between environment and development was globally recognized in 1980, when the International Union will require slowing and eventually stabilizing rapid population growth; providing urban alternatives to mega-cities; finding settled, safe homes fo"environmental refugees'!-populations fleeing desertification desertification Spread of a desert environment into arid or semiarid regions, caused by climatic changes, human influence, or both. Climatic factors include periods of temporary but severe drought and long-term climatic changes toward dryness. and other disasters; and planning a safe future for increasing numbers of people. Population growth, trends in birth and death rates, age distribution, urbanization, migration, health and the environment, degradation of critical resources, including desertification, deforestation deforestation Process of clearing forests. Rates of deforestation are particularly high in the tropics, where the poor quality of the soil has led to the practice of routine clear-cutting to make new soil available for agricultural use. and hazardous wastes Hazardous waste Any solid, liquid, or gaseous waste materials that, if improperly managed or disposed of, may pose substantial hazards to human health and the environment. Every industrial country in the world has had problems with managing hazardous wastes. are reviewed in the report. A threepage "agenda for change" outlines some of the corrective measures needed to establish a sustainable relationship between human numbers and resources. |
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