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THE UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT (ICPD) AND RESEARCH ON POPULATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Catherine S. Pierce
The topic of human population and its relationship to biodiversity and protected areas is a relatively unexplored area. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting was an important contribution to addressing this subject. One of the key features of the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), which was held September 1994 in Cairo, was its inclusiveness. It brought together diverse groups; it expanded the dialogue on population concerns; and it sought, and indeed, identified, "common ground." The AAAS expert's meeting, which served as the basis for this book, continued that process of inclusiveness. It brought together representatives of various academic disciplines - experts in various aspects of environment and population - as part of the larger effort to build bridges between the scientific and policy-making community. This chapter highlights the principal new directions of the ICPD; presents a brief overview of the United Nations Population Fund's activities in implementing the ICPD Programme of Action, the final document to which the ICPD delegates agreed; and suggests some directions for research in the area of population and environment which have relevance to population and biodiversity. THE POPULATION SITUATION The human population situation in many developing countries has shown considerable improvement during the past 25 years. Fertility levels and crude death rates have declined, and life expectancy at birth has increased by nearly 20%, from 52 years in 1969 to 62 years today. Overall, the health of women and children is improving; the prevalence and use of contraceptives have increased, from approximately 14% in 1960-1965 to an estimated 56.8% of women of reproductive age in 1994. World population is currently estimated at about 5.7 billion. While the rate of growth is on the decline, absolute increments have been increasing. Given the push of demographic momentum, it is likely that annual absolute increases will remain at around 86 million for the next several years. The next 20 years will witness a continuing shift of population from rural to urban areas. The most rapid rates of urbanization will occur in developing countries where, by the year 2015, the proportion of the population living in urban areas is projected to reach 50%. International migration is also likely to continue at a high level. The levels of population growth, urbanization, the movement of populations across borders, and the young age structure will impact patterns of production and consumption. All of these phenomena will affect or be affected by the environment. THE ICPD PROGRAMME OF ACTION The Programme of Action, is remarkable for its scope and its vision. It identifies a set of very specific, practical actions that can be taken at the national and international level to implement the ICPD recommendations. Firmly rooted in a human rights framework the Programme of Action emphasizes the need to respect the rights of individual women and men and to reconcile their rights and aspirations with the objectives of macro-level development policies. Empowerment of Women The ICPD Programme of Action is also remarkable for its clear recognition of the need to empower women, a need that is an important end in itself and key to improving the quality of life of families, communities, and countries. It underscores the imperative to integrate girls and women into the mainstream of sustainable development. It acknowledges that there can be no sustainable human development without the full and equal participation of women in all aspects of development. In particular, it noted the need for women's full participation at all levels in the area of population and environment in order to achieve "sustainable management of natural resources." Gender equality, equity, and empowerment of women are themes that are woven throughout the chapters of the Programme of Action. Reproductive Health and Rights The ICPD broke new ground with regard to all areas of reproductive health and rights. The Programme of Action moved away from a narrow focus on family planning and fertility in favor of a comprehensive focus on reproductive and sexual health. It says reproductive rights are basic human rights and it recognized the need to integrate family planning into the wider context of quality reproductive health services. Population and Development The ICPD Programme of Action brought to the fore a new paradigm of population and development, which was of critical importance to the discussions that took place in the AAAS meeting. The new paradigm affirmed that population is an integral part of sustained economic growth and sustainable development. It underscored the interrelated and the positive reciprocity among efforts to slow population growth, reduce poverty, achieve economic progress, improve environmental protection, and reduce unsustainable consumption and production patterns. Principle 6 of the Programme of Action notes that the "interrelationships between population, resources, the environment and development should be fully recognized, properly managed and brought into harmonious, dynamic balance." It calls on States to "reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and promote appropriate policies, including population-related policies, in order to meet the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." The ICPD Programme of Action builds on the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development's (UNCED) introductory chapter, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and Agenda 21, UNCED's final report and recommendations for action. It delineates the intersectoral linkages between population and environment. It notes that sustainable development implies a recalibration of production and consumption patterns related to economic activities - industry, energy, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, transport, tourism - in order to optimize ecologically sound resource use and minimize waste. The explicit integration of population into economic and development strategies will accelerate sustainable development and the alleviation of poverty and will contribute to the achievement of population objectives and an improved quality of life of the population. New Partnerships At the ICPD, the international community was strongly urged to forge new partnerships - to strengthen non-governmental organizations (NGOs), to enhance cooperation between governments and NGOs, and to seek greater involvement of the private sector in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive population and development-related programs. MOVING FORWARD FROM CAIRO The implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action is indeed every nation's job. In December 1994, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 49/128, which emphasizes the importance of enhanced cooperation in implementing the Programme of Action throughout the United Nations system. In the months since the Cairo Conference, UNFPA has held a series of regional meetings and technical consultations with countries, through national committees and other modalities. UNFPA is assisting them in aligning their national population and development programs with the principles and priorities agreed to at the Cairo Conference. As part of its initiative to strengthen its partnership with NGOs, UNFPA has established an Advisory Committee that met for the first time in April 1994. In June 1995, UNFPA presented a document to its Executive Board entitled Programme Priorities and Future Directions of UNFPA in Light of the ICPD. It proposed a more concentrated approach to programming with the principal areas of focus being reproductive health and family planning, population and development strategies, and advocacy. In the coming years, UNFPA will continue to assist governments in building national institutional capacity to implement the ICPD and to mobilize needed resources for population and development initiatives. RESEARCH PRIORITIES Discussions during the 1994 Cairo Conference clearly underscored the need for continued research in the area of population and development. The broad view of population and sustainable development emphasized at Cairo demonstrated the importance of researchers using "a wide-angle lens." As a result of this conference, nations will examine how contextual factors - political systems, partners of governance, and culture and tradition - affect population and development concerns. As nations attempt to "fine tune" sustainable development policies, micro-level research that attempts to elucidate the actions and responses at the local level will need to be conducted. Since, at present, financial resources for development assistance fall far short of needs, more attention must be given to "impact assessment." As a funding agency, we at the UNFPA need to know whether an intervention works, if it is having the intended impact, and, ideally, if it would be transferable to another environment. Rapid assessment methodologies - when scientists conduct brief, rapid, intense assessments of environment and development impacts in field sites - have their shortcomings. Nonetheless, they are useful in giving quick indications as to the utility of a particular intervention. The capacity to conduct research in developing countries must be further developed. Researchers can be teamed up in developing countries, and training opportunities can be provided. In the area of population, environment, and development, it is especially critical that an ongoing dialogue between social scientists and those in the natural sciences is created and nurtured. The AAAS expert's meeting addressed many of the substantive issues in the area of population and the environment, specifically in relation to biodiversity and protected areas. These discussions will bring greater clarity to many of the puzzling questions faced by researchers in the social and environmental sciences.
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