Yesterday, July 11th, was World Population Day, a celebration dedicated to raising awareness of global population issues and uniting one another. This year’s theme is “Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities.” This celebration was established in 1989 by the then-Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme due to an interest in the Day of Five Billion, when the world population reached five billion on July 11th, 1987. As of November 2022, our current world population is above eight billion.
In keeping with this year’s theme of gender equality, you can’t discuss population growth and development without discussing the topic of gender equality and women’s rights. A woman’s ability to make informed decisions regarding health care, contraception, sex, and pregnancy is vital for the well-being of women and the disruption of intergenerational cycles of poverty. Access to adequate reproductive healthcare services can not only reduce fertility rates but also boost economic and social development.
Population has a direct impact on the health of our planet. Certain economic processes, such as deforestation or pollution, do significant damage to our environment. Population growth amplifies these issues by adding to the total economic demand.
The negative effects of economic activity are often amplified by rapid population growth. However, the rise in per capita income is as important as population growth in driving increased production and consumption. Some of the world’s poorest countries also have some of the fastest-growing populations. But, lesser-developed countries are not the only factor in the increasing pressure on our ecosystems. More developed nations with higher per-capita income tend to consume material resources and release greenhouse gas emissions at a heightened rate.
We at OneNature believe moving our global economy towards one that values sustainability and goals centered around well-being and conservation can be exponentially beneficial to the health of our earth as well as the health of all that inhabit it. We must rely on humankind’s ability and willingness to develop resource efficiency in production and consumption in order to attain sustainability. By assuming responsibility for living sustainably, high-income nations can mitigate our impact on the planet. By working together to decrease the growth rate of the global population AND reduce the per capita consumption of resources by the wealthiest countries, we will be moving towards a more sustainable and just global economy.
“The key problem facing humanity in the coming century is how to bring a better quality of life — for 8 billion or more people — without wrecking the environment entirely in the attempt.”
Edward O. Wilson
Image by: mauro mora via Unsplash.