Increasing population growth is perhaps one of the most serious threats to the environment. The 7.5 billion mouths that need feeding in the world force commercialised production and lead to a serious environmental impact. Main threats posed to the environment would be an increase of natural resources needed to sustain humanity, increased emissions, and increased pollution through waste, industry and agriculture.
LEDCs (less economically developed countries) tend to have not only a higher child mortality rate, but also, as a result, a higher birth rate than MEDCs (more economically developed countries). It is also in LEDCs that women often have the least rights and are forced to work the hardest to support their families and earn a living. Conditions in LEDCs are so poor that women are often not allowed a proper education or equal jobs. As a result, their focus is on child-rearing and sustaining a family that will hopefully protect them in their old age.
The Millennium Development Goals focused on many aspects of development and included promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality and improving maternal health. Development is the key to sustaining a healthy population level that will not continue to threaten our global environment. Through helping LEDCs to develop and emancipating women we will see some significant benefits.
- Firstly, education will be more readily available to women, allowing them to progress into the workplace and take an equal role in society.
- Secondly, with development, amenities such as contraception become more accessible to women, meaning that a drop-in birth rates is likely.
- Thirdly, more women in the workplace will not only mean they are less dependent upon the success of their children in old age, but also that they have less time to raise children at all.
- And finally, with a significant drop in birth rates throughout most LEDCs, we will see a stabilisation of the global population increase.
With our earth currently unable to sustain the rate at which humanity is using its resources (we will have used almost double the sustainable amount of available resources in 2018), it is essential that we stop population growth all together and some environmentalists are certain that we must begin to decrease the population to a safe level through family planning.
This was just an expression of some thoughts on the importance of ensuring our presence on earth is sustainable. I found this article in the Independent quite interesting…
Til next time,
Stay Hydrated
Autumn