Tomorrow is World Population Day:

It's time for seven billion actions

By Pramod DE SILVA

If you ask the question 'How many people inhabit Planet Earth?' the standard answer is 'six billion people'. But from October 31, 2011, the answer would be seven billion. Yes, the world will be having one billion extra mouths to feed from October. (Around 80 million are added to the world population every year). This is especially interesting to us here in Sri Lanka, which will be conducting a census this year.

This year's World Population Day, which falls on July 11 (tomorrow) is even more significant in the light of this global milestone. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the lead agency of the UN for the World Population Day calls it a challenge as well as an opportunity.

The UNFPA is launching a global campaign called Seven Billion Actions to create a more sustainable world with the tagline "We are seven billion people counting on each other". Incidentally, 1.8 billion of them are aged 10-24.

Just 25 years ago, the world population was five billion. In fact, the World Population Day is an outgrowth of the Day of Five Billion, which was observed on July 11, 1987. The Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme later recommended that July 11, be observed as World Population Day.

The eight billion milestone will be reached by 2025, nine billion by 2043, and 10 billion by 2083 at current projections. Infant mortality is decreasing and people are living longer than ever before. Diseases that killed millions of people even a hundred years ago can be easily cured now. There is no escape from the population challenge. But our aim should be sharing the resources of our planet with seven billion or more people without harming it in the process.

Enough food

In a message to mark the World Population Day, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon outlined some of these challenges. "Later this year, a seven-billionth baby will be born into our world of complexity and contradiction. We have enough food for everyone, yet nearly a billion go hungry. We have the means to eradicate many diseases, yet they continue to spread.

"We have the gift of a rich natural environment, yet it remains subject to daily assault and exploitation. All people of conscience dream of peace, yet too much of the world is in conflict and steeped in armaments. Overcoming challenges of this magnitude will demand the best in each of us. Let us use this World Population Day to take determined actions to create a better future for our world's seven-billionth inhabitant and for generations to come." He noted that Seven Billion Actions would be a starting point for a better world.

"Reaching a global population of seven billion is a numerical landmark, but our focus should always be on people. That is why I am pleased that the United Nations Population Fund is giving meaning to the number by launching its campaign for 'Seven Billion Actions' to contribute to a better world," he said.

Can the population explosion be stopped? While the simple answer is "no", an attempt can be made to limit population growth. Education and poverty eradication are the keys to addressing the population issue. In 1994, 179 governments came together in Cairo for the historic International Conference on Population and Development.

They agreed that the empowerment of girls and women is an important step towards eradicating poverty and stabilising population growth.

There is widespread ignorance of birth control methods, a factor that leads to unwanted pregnancies. There are still an estimated 215 million women in less developed countries who want to avoid or delay pregnancy, but lack access to modern contraception.

Educating girls is crucial in this context. Especially important are the 600 million adolescent girls. If every girl attends school, has the number of children she desires, and lives free from gender-based violence and discrimination, the world could see an end to child marriage and improved health for children and families.

The UNFPA has recognised that reproductive health and rights, including the right to freely and responsibly determine the number, spacing and timing of children without coercion, discrimination and violence, are cornerstones of women's empowerment and sustainable development. These objectives are also reflected in the Millennium Development Goals, slated to be achieved by 2015.

Food security

Food security is one of the biggest concerns of a post- seven billion world. The last few years saw an upward trend in food prices, which had a devastating impact on many populations. A 2009 UN conference on 'how to feed the world in 2050' generated much public anxiety about strategies to achieve the necessary 70 percent increase in food production. This remains a major challenge, because agricultural land cannot be expanded beyond a certain limit.

Apart from introducing higher yielding, more disease-resistant crop varieties, the world will have to take a long, hard look at some current practices such as feeding most of the world's grains to livestock.

The wastage of food must be minimised. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, industrialised countries waste 222 million tons of food annually, or almost as much as sub-Saharan Africa's 230 million tons of net food production per year. Sustainable agricultural practices should come to the fore.

Another major worry is that the additional population will further strain the Earth's energy resources, already at breaking point. Fossil fuel consumption is likely to go up in high population areas, affecting the environment and leading to climate change. It is important to use existing energy resources in a sustainable manner and opt for renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind where possible. Imagine the savings on fossil fuels if highly populous countries such as India and China establish more renewable energy plants.

Cities will be under increasing pressure as the population expands. The UN predicts that 65 percent of the global population will live in cities by 2050. Many cities in the developing world have a large slum-dwelling population. Providing housing and sanitary facilities for future city populations will be a huge task.

The disparity in populations among various countries is another cause for concern. Some countries are overcrowded while some others have populations which are far smaller in relation to their size (such as Canada and Australia).

More legal migration opportunities should be provided for those wishing to enter such countries. Moreover, millions of people could be displaced from their homes due to climate change. There should be an international mechanism to resettle these people. There will be many more challenges in a world of seven billion. Tackling them will take courage, vision and commitment on the part of governments and individuals. The time to begin seven billion actions is now!