Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future Richard T. Wright

1. Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future Richard T. Wright Chapter 6 Population and Development

2. In Brief, This Chapter Is About • Improving the lives of people • Reducing fertility rates • Protecting the environment

3. What’s happened in the last 30 years? • Average income? • Up 37%! • Infant mortality? • Down by half!  • Adult literacy? • Up 22%  • Birth rate? • Down by 39%

4. On the Other side… • 1.2 billion still live on < $1/day  • We may max out at ~ 10 billion, which may be unsustainable 

5. Bottom Line • Given the choice, most of us would rather be rich than poor (OK, so it’s not profound!) • Population pressures, particularly in developing countries, degrade the environment. • The ways to reduce the environmental effects of population pressures are to • Work on population control, even before development happens • Development (properly done) reduces environmental degradation • All this is easier said than done, and complicated.

6. Reassessing the Demographic Transition • Development must be linked to a reduction in poverty (this is usually tautological) • Existing poverty is an affront to humanity and should not be tolerated (but eliminating it is complicated) • Both poverty and development are threats to the health of the environment

7. Demographic Transition: Developed and Developing Countries Developing countries continued to have high birth rates, even when death rates declined- net result is a population increase that will continue.

8. Fertility Rate and Income Not a straight line; and ??leads to questions.

9. Reasons for Large Families in Developing Countries • Old age security • Infant and childhood mortality rates • Children are an economic asset • Importance of education • Status of women • Availability of contraceptives

10. The Poverty Cycle

11. Contraceptive Use and Fertility Rates

12. Bottom line- fertility IS dropping; Developed countries have a population deficit

13. Adult Female Illiteracy: A Global Comparison This could be an example of “junk science”, misleading at a minimum. Critical to this is knowing the rate of literacy among males in these countries, or it’s meaningless

14. Promoting Development: Good and Bad News • Millennium development goals • World agencies at work (World Bank, UNDP, WHO) • The debt crisis • Development aid

15. Some Sobering Facts • One-fifth of the world’s population (1.2 billion) live on less than $1/day • 1.5 billion lack access to clean water • 2.4 billion lack access to sanitary facilities

16. Some Sobering Facts • 790 million are malnourished • Environmental degradation is rampant • Fertility rates highest in poorest countries

17. Millennium Development Goals (Table 6-2)1997, UN, World Bank, Org. for Economic Cooperation & Dev. (OECD), Goals by 2015 • Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger • Achieve universal primary education • Promote gender equality in education and empower women (Values!) • Reduce child mortality

18. Millennium Development Goals (Table 6-2) • Improve maternal health • Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases • Ensure environmental sustainability • Forge a global partnership for development

19. Millennium Development Goal-How’s the world doing???

20. The Debt Crisis • $2.44 trillion in 2001 • The typical credit–debt trap • Creditor countries primary beneficiaries • MAJOR PROBLEMS: CORRUPTION & MISMANAGEMENT!!!

21. Coping with the Debt Crisis • Grow cash crops  • Develop austerity measures  • Exploit natural resources 

22. Development Aid

23. A New Direction: Social Modernization • Improving education for girls and women • Improving health and lowering infant mortality • Making “family planning” accessible • Enhancing income through employment opportunities • Improving resource management

24. The Greatest Challenge to Health Care in Developing Countries • AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)

25. Effect of AIDS on Future Population Structure

26. Impacts of AIDS Epidemic • 90% of all HIV-infected people (50 million by 2004) live in developing countries • Life expectancy in Botswana was 61 years in 1980 – now 39 years • One million elementary students lost teachers • 25 million AIDS orphans in developing world by 2010 • What works: changing sexual ethics.

27. Family Planning • Counseling on: STDs, contraceptives, spacing children, pregnancy avoidance • Supplying contraceptives • Pre- and postnatal care

28. Employment and Income: Grameen Bank Loans (Microlending) • Primarily to women • Do not upset existing social structure • Utilize local resources • Utilize central work places • Help develop self-reliance

29. Resource Management • Replant trees • Prevent erosion • Resource management educational programs

30. Putting It All Together: Social Development

31. What you need to know from Chapter 6:See bottom line slideUnderstand the broad relationships between: Income and Fertility Poverty and Environmental degradationReasons for Large families in developing countriesFertility trends- Table 6-1Major causes of Third world debtEffects of 3rd World debt upon the environmentEffects of AIDS on population and Environment.

32. Bottom Line • Given the choice, most of us would rather be rich than poor (OK, so it’s not profound!) • Population pressures, particularly in developing countries, degrade the environment. • The ways to reduce the environmental effects of population pressures are to • Work on population control, even before development happens • Development (properly done) reduces environmental degradation • All this is easier said than done, and complicated.