Population Change & Sustainable Development
By Alex Jackson
Last updated on
- Sustainability - Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Economic sustainability takes this concept further:
- Economic Sustainability - Considers the ability of economies to maintain themselves when resources decline or become too expensive and when populations dependent on these resources are growing.
A Dilemma
- Developed countries continue to demand resources for their populations in increasing amounts.
- Less developed countries are supplying the resources that make the developed countries affluent.
- Rapidly increasing populations of developing countries are demanding more and more resources.
Agenda 21
Agenda 21 is a UN sustainable development programme. It states that governments are obliged to formulate national plans or strategies for sustainable development. It also states that sustainable development is essentially a local activity.
Strategies by Local Authorities
- Monitoring air and water quality.
- Promoting energy efficiency.
- Establishing effective recycling system.
- Creating efficient forms of public transport.
- Carrying out population management.
Local Population Management
Developing Countries:
- Training community nurses.
- Increasing female literacy rates.
- Making contraceptives readily available.
Developed Countries
- Train sufficient personal to care for the elderly.
- Consider the issues arising from falling birth ages, fewer children and a reduced workforce.