POPULATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Much has been said about the need to control the population of
developing countries. The human population is reaching such proportions
that it is feared it will exceed the capacity of the planet to sustain
it. Too many people. The more people, the more pressure on the planet.
Nearly 80 percent of the human population is in developing countries. To
make things worst, population growth is also concentrated there. Of the
90 million people who engross the human population every year, about 90
percent is expected to live in developing countries. The problem seems
clearly to be in the developing world. The solution is then to control,
through whatever means possible, the population of these countries. The
massive and free flow of contraceptives, mass sterilization, cultural
disruption, and even genocide has been proposed to achieve this goal.
All in the name of the environment and "sustainable development".
However, most of these arguments, as well as most of the proposed
solutions, are only a reflection of the ignorance, racism and bigotry
that permeates the debate on population and the environment.
Some effective measures against population growth in developing
countries, such as badly needed improvements in education, health care
and nutrition; the creation of productive jobs; the diversification of
economic output, and the export of processes or semi-processed products
instead of raw materials, have been rhetorically supported in
international negotiations. But in practice they have been taken with a
considerable dosage of apprehension. It has been argued that they would
imply improved standards of living for the people affected. This might
in turn lead to higher levels of consumption of resources, as well as to
the production of larger amounts of waste and pollutants. The
environmental argument has thus been used to strengthen the already
mighty interest in avoiding any disruption of the established economic
order. The result has been a dramatic collapse of education, health and
nutrition indicators throughout Latin America and other developing
regions in the last 15 years; the massive growth of unemployment;
further dependence on the export of raw materials, and growing masses of
people living in extreme poverty. In the mean time, the gap between the
standard of living of industrial and developing countries has reached
inhumane proportions.
The main impact of people on the environment is related to two
fundamental variables:
a] The consumption of resources
b] The production of waste and pollutants.
In 1990 there were 5.28 billion people on the planet, twenty two percent
[22%] of which in industrial countries, and the remaining 78 percent in
developing countries. Nevertheless, industrial countries accounted for
nearly 80 percent of all resources consumed. They were also responsible
for the production of nearly 80 percent of all waste and pollutants.
If we were to measure the environmental impact of human population with
a uniform yardstick, such as the amount of resources consumed by the
average person in developing countries, or the amount of waste and
pollutants produced by the same average person, we would then conclude
that while in 1990 there were just over 4 billion people in developing
countries, the population-equivalent of industrial countries would
amount to 14 billion people.
>From the point of view of environmental impact, where is then the real
population problem?
If we add to the discussion the very long history of slavery, abuse,
exploitation and misery that for centuries have been imposed on
developing countries by the main industrial nations, we could conclude
that there is gigantic environmental, economic and social debt that the
minority of people in industrial countries have so far gotten away with.
The unsustainable growth of the population of developing countries is
closely related to extreme levels of poverty, partly a consequence of
the established international economic order, designed by industrial
nations to enhance their own interests, and imposed upon the rest of the
world.
Environmental devastation is also related to international economic and
political relationships. Developing countries must play the role of
exporters of ever-larger amounts of ever-cheaper raw materials [natural
resources], to maintain the industrial output and wealth of the "North".
The depletion of resources, and the environmental and social costs
involved, is not even taken into consideration in the established
economic systems.
Population growth is certainly one of the key problems facing developing
countries. Decisive and effective action is necessary to address it,
with due respect for the cultural, ethical and religious differences
between diverse sectors of humanity. The lack of democratic processes of
governance, and the profound social inequalities evident in most
developing countries, are part of the array of related issues where
fundamental changes are required.
But the population dilemma should not be isolated from the political and
economic context it which it has thrived. The perception of population
growth in developing countries as the culprit of worldwide environmental
damage is a fallacy that deserves to be eradicated. It is, nevertheless,
at the very bottom of foreign policies in many a industrial nation, as
part of the overall attempt to preserve the established international
structure, regardless of how profoundly unfair it may be to the majority
of the human race.
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Julio Cesar Centeno, PhD
Las Tapias, Edif. Carreto
Pent House Tel. +58-74-714576
PO Box 750 Fax +58-74-714576
Merida - Venezuela Email: JCenteno@ciens.ula.ve
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