Population Matters – how to address population growth
By Milena Rampoldi and Denise Nanni, ProMosaik. In the following our
interview with Alistair Currie, Head of Campaigns at Population
Matters. The main goal of Population Matters is about how to face
the challenge of sustainability related to the human population size. A very
complex matter, involving many approaches, points of views, and ideologic and
religious principles.
interview with Alistair Currie, Head of Campaigns at Population
Matters. The main goal of Population Matters is about how to face
the challenge of sustainability related to the human population size. A very
complex matter, involving many approaches, points of views, and ideologic and
religious principles.
What are the main threats to sustainability?
We live on a finite planet and while many of the
resources we currently rely on are renewable, many – like land and fossil fuels
– are not. Above and beyond that, we are rendering resources which should be
renewable – such as clean air and water, and a functioning ecosystem – unable
to sustain us through pollution, climate change and other actions. These things
are happening because each person brings a demand for resources with them when
they arrive on the planet and because how we currently use those resources
generates harmful side-effects such as greenhouse gases. Quite simply, the more
of us there are and the more we consume, the greater the burden the plant has
to carry – and we are already using more than one-and-a-half times the Earth’s
non-renewable resources every year. The greatest challenge we face in the 21st
century is how to live within the planet’s means when people are emerging from
poverty and their levels of consumption increase while unsustainable levels of
consumption in the rich world show no signs of reducing.
resources we currently rely on are renewable, many – like land and fossil fuels
– are not. Above and beyond that, we are rendering resources which should be
renewable – such as clean air and water, and a functioning ecosystem – unable
to sustain us through pollution, climate change and other actions. These things
are happening because each person brings a demand for resources with them when
they arrive on the planet and because how we currently use those resources
generates harmful side-effects such as greenhouse gases. Quite simply, the more
of us there are and the more we consume, the greater the burden the plant has
to carry – and we are already using more than one-and-a-half times the Earth’s
non-renewable resources every year. The greatest challenge we face in the 21st
century is how to live within the planet’s means when people are emerging from
poverty and their levels of consumption increase while unsustainable levels of
consumption in the rich world show no signs of reducing.
How do you address these threats?
These are enormous and urgent challenges and we need to use every tool at
our disposal – that is ethical and respects human rights to meet them. That
means technological solutions such as transferring to new energy sources and
products that uses fewer resources, and taking active steps right now to limit
the activities that drive the most pressing and severe problems, such as
climate change and habitat destruction. Primarily, we need to reduce the
demands we place on the planet by reducing our consumption. We certainly have
to look at how our economic system works in driving consumption and maintaining
inequalities and we need to moderate our individual consumption. The single
most effective thing we can do to reduce consumption right now, however, is
limit the amount of new consumers putting pressure on our planet. First, that
means ensuring that people who can’t currently control their family size can do
so by overcoming all barriers to the use of effective, modern contraception.
Second, and perhaps even more importantly, doing all we can to ensure that
people who can control their family size choose to have small families or no
children at all.
our disposal – that is ethical and respects human rights to meet them. That
means technological solutions such as transferring to new energy sources and
products that uses fewer resources, and taking active steps right now to limit
the activities that drive the most pressing and severe problems, such as
climate change and habitat destruction. Primarily, we need to reduce the
demands we place on the planet by reducing our consumption. We certainly have
to look at how our economic system works in driving consumption and maintaining
inequalities and we need to moderate our individual consumption. The single
most effective thing we can do to reduce consumption right now, however, is
limit the amount of new consumers putting pressure on our planet. First, that
means ensuring that people who can’t currently control their family size can do
so by overcoming all barriers to the use of effective, modern contraception.
Second, and perhaps even more importantly, doing all we can to ensure that
people who can control their family size choose to have small families or no
children at all.
In what ways do you raise awareness about sustainable consumption?
Population Matters faces a challenge and an opportunity in our messaging and
campaigns because solving the problems arising from population and consumption
touches on so many issues, including wildlife conservation, women’s
empowerment, family planning and climate change. That means we can highlight
the issues in the context of all these areas but must also “compete”
for attention with everyone else working on those important issues. In our work
on consumption, we see our website (www.populationmatters.org)
and social media (Twitter.com/PopnMatters and Facebook.com/PopulationMatters)
as key vehicles for making those connections and raising awareness – we now
have more than 280,000 highly engaged followers on Facebook who share our posts
and spread the message. We also work with the traditional media – one of our
patrons, the naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham, recently wrote an
opinion piece on our behalf in The Times, for instance.
campaigns because solving the problems arising from population and consumption
touches on so many issues, including wildlife conservation, women’s
empowerment, family planning and climate change. That means we can highlight
the issues in the context of all these areas but must also “compete”
for attention with everyone else working on those important issues. In our work
on consumption, we see our website (www.populationmatters.org)
and social media (Twitter.com/PopnMatters and Facebook.com/PopulationMatters)
as key vehicles for making those connections and raising awareness – we now
have more than 280,000 highly engaged followers on Facebook who share our posts
and spread the message. We also work with the traditional media – one of our
patrons, the naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham, recently wrote an
opinion piece on our behalf in The Times, for instance.
How important are civil society capacity building and media coverage in
your activity?
your activity?
The truth is, for many years there has been a reluctance among many civil
society organisations in the environmental movement to talk about population
for a long time. That has acted as a brake on understanding of the problem and
generating solutions. We understand the old perception that talking about
numbers of children means focusing on high-fertility, low-consumption poorer
parts of the world and letting the low-fertility, high-consumption parts low
off the hook. That’s not what we’re about at all and I think there is now a
growing understanding that population advocates do what we do because it is a
means of addressing consumption. The issue has also suffered from an
unjustified association with authoritarian and human-rights abusing approaches such
as the one child policy in China and the sterilisation camps in India. The
reality is that we stand for women’s empowerment, respect for human rights, a
decent standard of living for all and a healthy environment. Increasingly civil
society organisations are recognising our shared interests and values and from
local women’s organisations to enormous environment NGOs, we are seeing a
positive shift and a growing willingness to talk about this subject. That’s a
healthy and vital development.
society organisations in the environmental movement to talk about population
for a long time. That has acted as a brake on understanding of the problem and
generating solutions. We understand the old perception that talking about
numbers of children means focusing on high-fertility, low-consumption poorer
parts of the world and letting the low-fertility, high-consumption parts low
off the hook. That’s not what we’re about at all and I think there is now a
growing understanding that population advocates do what we do because it is a
means of addressing consumption. The issue has also suffered from an
unjustified association with authoritarian and human-rights abusing approaches such
as the one child policy in China and the sterilisation camps in India. The
reality is that we stand for women’s empowerment, respect for human rights, a
decent standard of living for all and a healthy environment. Increasingly civil
society organisations are recognising our shared interests and values and from
local women’s organisations to enormous environment NGOs, we are seeing a
positive shift and a growing willingness to talk about this subject. That’s a
healthy and vital development.
As far as the media goes, our concerns map directly onto key issues in
which the media has an interest, such as climate change and habitat destruction
globally and resource and infrastructure pressures domestically in the UK. We
work to ensure that the importance and relevance of population to all of those
issues is brought into the media’s discussion of them.
which the media has an interest, such as climate change and habitat destruction
globally and resource and infrastructure pressures domestically in the UK. We
work to ensure that the importance and relevance of population to all of those
issues is brought into the media’s discussion of them.
Do you cooperate with local authorities and institutions? If yes, how?
We are primarily a campaigning organisation with a
wide focus and there isn’t at present a great deal we can achieve working
with local authorities. It is very important that people in their local area
have access to high quality family planning and education about the impacts of
population and family size on the environment. Down the line, that may be an
avenue we pursue but we’re a small organisation ad taht probably isn’t the most
effective use of our resources just now.
wide focus and there isn’t at present a great deal we can achieve working
with local authorities. It is very important that people in their local area
have access to high quality family planning and education about the impacts of
population and family size on the environment. Down the line, that may be an
avenue we pursue but we’re a small organisation ad taht probably isn’t the most
effective use of our resources just now.
