POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION OPENS THIRTY-FOURTH SESSION; THEME: ‘POPULATION, ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

Commission on Population and Development

Thirty-fourth Session

1^st Meeting (AM)

POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION OPENS THIRTY-FOURTH SESSION;

THEME:  ‘POPULATION, ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT’

World population at mid-century was expected to be substantially larger, by perhaps 3 billion people, more concentrated in developing countries, more urban, and more ethnically diverse within countries than it was today, the Commission on Population and Development was told this morning, as it began its thirty-fourth session.

In his opening statement to the Commission on its theme of population, environment and development, Joseph Chamie, Director, Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said projections now ranged from a population low of 7.9 billion to a high of 10.9 billion, with particularly rapid growth expected among the 48 least developed countries.

He went on to say that India, which now accounted for one fifth of the world’s population growth, had been projected to be larger than China by 2050.  By example, he said that the natural increase in population -- births minus deaths --for the European Union was 343,000 for the entire year; India achieved that amount of population growth during the first week of this year.  He noted, however, that the populations of one in five countries were expected to be smaller than they were today, including Germany, Italy and Hungary.

Delivering a message on behalf of Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Deputy Executive Director Kunio Waki stressed that growing populations, increasing development and urban sprawl had put a strain on air, land and water resources, often resulting in ecosystem disruption and environmental depletion.  Those changes affected people’s choices and prospects, threatening sustainability and endangering health.  They exacted their heaviest toll on the poor, especially women and children.

Addressing the Commission as a special discussant, Joel E. Cohen, Professor of Populations, Rockefeller University and Columbia University, drew attention to the fact that the links among population, environment and development were difficult to understand largely because a fourth topic –- culture -– was missing from the list.  “Culture matters”, he said, and without understanding all the aspects of culture, there would be little chance of understanding how population, development and the environment interacted.

At the outset of the meeting, the Commission elected Makoto Ato (Japan) as Chairman, and José Roberto Andino Salazar (El Salvador), Gediminas Serksnys

(Lithuania) and Antonio Golini (Italy) as Vice-Chairmen.  Further consultations would be held for the election of the remaining Vice-Chairman/Rapporteur.  The Commission also approved its agenda and programme of work for its current session and took note of the report of the intersessional meeting of its Bureau.

The Commission, a subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council, is charged with studying and advising the Council on population changes and their effect on economic and social conditions.  Following the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) (Cairo, 1994), it was decided that the Commission would meet annually, beginning in 1996, to assess implementation of the Cairo Conference’s Programme of Action.  The current session is the second since the General Assembly held a five-year, high-level review in July 1999.

Statements were also made by Iran (on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China), Sweden (on behalf of the European Union and associated States), Bangladesh, India, Japan and China.

In addition, the representative of Kenya, as well as Larry Heligman, Assistant Director of the Population Division, and Mari Simonen, Director of the Technical Support Division, UNFPA, introduced the reports before the Commission.

The Commission will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its consideration of follow-up actions to the recommendations of the ICPD.

Background

The Commission on Population and Development met this morning to begin its thirty-fourth session, which will focus on the link between population, environment and development.  This morning, following the election of officers and adoption of its agenda and programme of work, it will also consider follow-up actions to the recommendations of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) (Cairo, 1994).  (For background, see Press Release POP/792 issued on 30 March.)

Statements

Following his election as Chairman of the Commission, MAKOTO ATO (Japan) said that the Commission would discuss the important issue of the interrelationship between population, environment and development.  He would also like to have a discussion of the possibility of holding an event in 2004 for reviewing the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development.

JOSEPH CHAMIE, Director, Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said while it would be appropriate to focus on what the demographic make-up of the world would be by mid-century, he would first briefly address several preliminary questions most often raised when considering the future and population projections.  The first of those questions concerned the value of population projections for 50 or more years into the future.  Such projections, which had profound implications on societies, as well as individuals, were extremely important.  They provided a “demographic compass” and were vital for creating policies, plans and programmes relating to virtually every area of human activity, including education, social services, employment and political representation.

Another question concerned just how population projections for 200 countries could be prepared, he continued.  While anything dealing with the future contained an inherent degree of uncertainty, it could be noted that fertility and mortality rates were relatively stable from year to year.  Population projections were also based on explicit assumptions regarding fertility, mortality and migration, which were applied to current estimates of a population and its parameters using sound and straightforward methodologies.

As he explained the technical and lengthy process the United Nations used to project population figures, he held up a black box filled with tangled, coloured strands of confetti representing the complex and conflicting nature of the world’s population information.  He said that demographers examined all that information carefully and produced population figures that would eventually led to the texts World Population Prospects.

He said that another concern was the accuracy of population projections for 50 or more years into the future.  Again, while the future was uncertain, the track record of the United Nations Division had been excellent.  He went on to say that it was important not to blame the messenger if his message was perceived as unsuitable.  When demographers provided the world community with population projections and described the likely trends in fertility, mortality, urbanization and migration, they should not be blamed for the projected outcomes or consequences.  The world community must reflect on those probable outcomes and decide how to best deal with them.

Turning to his central focus, the world demographic picture at mid-century, he said that the future population would be substantially larger by 2050. Projections now ranged from a population low of 7.9 billion to a high of

10.9 billion.  Nearly all that growth would take place in the less developed countries.  Also, the diversity in population growth rates would become even more evident in the coming decades.  While some countries would grow rapidly, others would see a decline in population size.  Particularly rapid growth was again expected among the group of 48 countries classified as least developed.  Their population was expected to nearly triple by mid-century, passing 1.8 billion, despite predictions that there would be a marked decline in fertility during that time.

He went on to say that India, which now accounted for one fifth of the world’s population growth, had been projected to be larger than China by 2050.  By example, he said that the natural increase in population -- births minus deaths -- for the European Union was 343,000 for the entire year; India achieved that amount of population growth during the first week of this year.  He noted, however, that the populations for one in five countries were expected to be smaller than they are today.  By example, he said that Germany would be 14 per cent smaller, and both Italy and Hungary would be smaller by 25 per cent.  Canada, Australia and the United States would post population increases.

The main factors that accounted for the differences in population growth included, among others, fertility, mortality, social factors and the employment of women.  Another factor was the impact of HIV/AIDS.  He noted, however, that despite the continuing impact of the disease, populations in Africa had been predicted to be larger than they are today.  He also said that the world’s population would be significantly older than it was today.  Indeed, the number of persons 60 years or older was expected to triple by 2050.  The numbers of persons 80 years or older was expected to increase fivefold.  Also, international migration was expected to remain high.

He said that, taking those and other factors into account, the world population at mid-century would be very different than it was today.  It was expected to be, among other things, substantially larger by perhaps 3 billion people; more concentrated in developing countries, more urban and more ethnically diverse within countries than it was today.  The Commission would play a vital role in the debate on international population and development.  And, while it was essential to understand current and likely future population trends, bold vision combined with strong and enlightened leadership was also needed.  Such leadership by the Commission would contribute to enhancing the ability of the United Nations system to make the world in the twenty-first century a better place not just for a fortunate few, but for all citizens.

KUNIO WAKI, Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), delivered a statement on behalf of the Executive Director, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid.  He said that the five-year reviews of the ICPD in 1999, and the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1997, re-emphasized the interrelationships between population, environment and development.  They underscored the necessity of eliminating unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, reducing poverty, improving environmental protection, and adopting population and development policies that would meet current needs, without compromising the needs of future generations. 

The UNFPA promoted policy dialogue and advocacy for population and environmental issues, he said.  The Fund provided support for initiatives aimed at exploring the relationships between population and sustainable development, and integrating population and environment linkages in national policies and programmes.  It also supported efforts relating to population, poverty, gender, reproductive health, and the environment, including research on environmental refugees.  The UNFPA especially promoted efforts focusing on women’s role in environmental protection. 

The 2001 edition of UNFPA’s annual The State of World Population, to be released in September, was devoted to the interrelationships among population, environment and development, he continued.  It would review the unprecedented increase, in the last several decades, in the size and concentration of human populations, and a pattern of increase in consumption and production that had been unevenly distributed.  Growing populations, increasing development and urban sprawl had put a strain on air, land and water resources, often resulting in ecosystem disruption and environmental depletion.  Those changes affected people’s choices and prospects, threatening sustainability and endangering health.  They exacted their heaviest toll on the poor, especially women and children. 

With regard to discussing possible options for the 10-year review of the ICPD, he said that there were a number of demographic and population-related issues that had become more urgent since the ICPD+5 review, especially the increased spread of HIV/AIDS and adolescent reproductive health.  On the modalities for the 2004 review, it was important to recall the general agreement on the advantages of further reinforcing a coordinated and integrated follow-up and review of conferences, and the various options already identified by the Economic and Social Council.  He stressed the need to focus attention and efforts on accelerating the implementation of the Programme of Action, and the recommendations from the ICPD+5, with a view to helping ensure their full implementation within the agreed 20-year framework.

SIMON BULLUT (Kenya) introduced the report of the intersessional meeting of the Bureau (document E/CN.9/2001/CRP.1).  The meeting was held in Nairobi on

27 and 28 September 2000 and three members of the Commission -- Iran, Italy and Kenya -- participated.  Items discussed at the meeting covered the proposed agenda for the current session, the Economic and Social Council’s review of follow-up to United Nations conferences, the possible options for the 10-year review, the work programme of the Population Division and other maters.  The Bureau’s recommendations to those items were in annex III of the report.

The Bureau made a number of recommendations on the Commission’s programme of work, he said.  It felt it would be useful to convene a panel of experts to discuss the theme of population, environment and development on Tuesday afternoon.  It felt it would also be useful to hear from representatives of other commissions on their activities.  It recommended that representatives of the Commission on the Status of Women, the Commission on Sustainable Development and the Statistical Commission be invited to address the Commission, as well as a representative of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to speak on preparations for the special session of the General Assembly on HIV/AIDS. 

The Bureau carefully reviewed possible options for the 10-year review, he continued.  It felt it would be useful to have the 10-year review in 2004 on the major issues of importance to the international community.  A possible title for the international event could be “population and development challenges for the twenty-first century”.

On the work programme for the Population Division, the Bureau felt it should continue to be supported and strengthened.  It recommended that the Division continue its work on the demographic impact of HIV/AIDS and provide input to the special session to be held later in the year.  Also, it should be active in the preparations for the Second World Assembly on Ageing.

The Commission then took note of the Bureau on its intersessional meeting and adopted the provisional agenda and programme of work, as orally revised, for the current session.

LARRY HELIGMAN, Assistant Director, Population Division, introduced the concise report on “World Population Monitoring”.  He said that while the general trends of population growth, economic development and environmental change had been well documented, information on how those factors interacted with and affected each other was not as well established.  The report reviewed current knowledge on those interrelationships.

The report covered a broad range of issues, including:  the evolution of population and the environment at major United Nations conferences; government views and policies concerning population, environment and development; and various scientific studies on those issues.

He highlighted some of the report’s salient features.  The report, he said, noted that virtually all future population growth would be concentrated in urban areas of the world.  The report also highlighted the fact that the benefits accruing from the unprecedented growth of the world economy had not been evenly distributed among all countries.

He said that population growth, structure and distribution were important aspects of environmental stress, insofar as everyone required the basic necessities of food, water, shelter and energy.  Environmental stress however, was a matter not just of population change, but also of how and what people produced and consumed now and in the future.  The report also noted that environmental change affected people’s welfare -- their health, mortality, and propensity to migrate.

MARI SIMONEN, Director, Technical Support Division, UNFPA, introduced the Secretary-General’s report on the flow of financial resources for assisting in the implementation of the Cairo Programme of Action (document E/CN.9/2001/3).  The report analysed international and domestic financial resource flows for population activities that were part of the “costed population package”, as described in the ICPD Programme of Action.  It included funding in the following four categories: family planning services; basic reproductive health services; sexually transmitted diseases/HIV/AIDS activities; and basic research, data and population and development policy analysis. 

With regard to donor assistance, she said that it overall rose slightly in 1999.  International population assistance today was just over 38 per cent of the $5.7 billion target agreed on in Cairo.  Population assistance as a percentage of ODA declined for the second year in a row.  That was a very worrisome development, which must be reversed.  The private sector, which included private foundations, non-governmental organizations and other private organizations, had become an increasingly important source of funding. 

She said it was encouraging to note that there had been some progress in the mobilization of resources to achieve the ICPD goals.  However, resources were far short of what the needs were and far short of agreements in the Programme of Action.  UNFPA’s experience in the field had shown that political will, growing financial support and solid population programmes had produced good results, increasing demand, and growing expectations.  There was so much more that the Fund could be doing, but could not, due to resource shortages.  It was not sure of meeting current programme needs, much less the increasing needs of young people for information and services that could save their lives. 

JOEL E. COHEN, Professor of Populations, Rockefeller University and Columbia University, said that the links among population, environment and development were difficult to understand, largely because a fourth topic –- culture -– was missing from that list.  “Culture matters”, he said.  It included technology, institutions, law, politics and values.  Without understanding all those aspects of culture, there would be little chance of understanding how population, development and the environment interacted.

He said that during the twentieth century, technological changes, including the invention and worldwide diffusion of stainless steel, nitrogenous fertilizers, antibiotics and weapons of mass destruction -- all undoubtedly components of cultural change -- had implications for population, development and environment. Other cultural components, such as politics, laws and values, also had profound effects.  He would highlight some political factors, since members, as representatives of their respective governments, could greatly influence how population, development and environment would interact in the future.

Some of the great political changes of the past century included the end of colonialism and legally sanctioned racism, the rise and fall of communism, as well as the establishment of political, social and economic rights for women.  He went on to highlight several examples, including labour shortages caused by the military draft of men to fight in the American Civil War and societies responses to pollution in Mexico City, Athens and London, as other examples of political activities affecting national cultures and environments.

He said that those and other examples suggested that culture mattered in complex ways that needed to be better understood. Culture moved people’s behaviour through the constraints and possibilities of population, the environment and development.  He reiterated the notion that culture included politics, technology, law, institutions and values.  Those things mattered, he added.  And what the Commission chose to do, as an influential component of national and global culture, would affect population, the environment and development and the links among them.

BAGHER ASADI (Iran), speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said that it was now an established fact that environment and economic growth affected the size and distribution of population, as well as its well-being.  There was, however, a marked difference between the situation in developed and developing countries.  In the developed countries, where the highest density of population was in urban areas, it was modern environmental health threats that were of concern.  For the developing countries, though, the problem included a wide mixture of both traditional and modern environmental health threats. 

That situation was further exacerbated by continuing migration from rural to urban areas and the consequent economic transformation, he continued.  It was important to take into consideration the difference in the nature and the degree of impact of urbanization on environment in both developed and developing countries.  Capacity-building in developing countries, through, among other things, an increased flow of resources and transfer of new and innovative technologies, as well as through exchange of experiences on environmental and health policies in the urban areas, could certainly assist developing countries in managing their growing urban areas more efficiently.

He said that the assistance by private foundations and non-governmental organizations for population activities was welcome, valuable and commendable.  It should, however, be clear that those resources and flows should supplement the developed countries’ assistance and should not be considered as a substitute.  What was needed was strong resolve and political will among developed countries, as well as other members of the donor community to increase the flow of financial resources towards the implementation of the Programme of Action.  The situation needed to be redressed, effectively and with a sense of urgency and compassion, if the goals and targets set in Cairo stood any real chance of realization.

RUTH JACOBY (Sweden), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said almost a decade after the international community had adopted an ambitious and comprehensive strategy to address environment and development challenges at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), expectations highlighting the need for global partnerships aimed at sustainable development were far from being realized.  Despite continuing efforts, both the environment and the natural resource base continued to deteriorate at an alarming rate.

She said that the world population depended on the environment for its existence.  Poor people, especially rural, poor women and their families, were especially dependent on the environment for their survival.  Better management of natural resources, such as land, forestry, water and fisheries, would improve the lives of such persons.  It was essential, therefore, to invest in education programmes aimed at implementing better cultivation techniques, in order to ensure a balance between economic development and a healthy environment.  At the same time, taking into account that half the world’s population now lived in urban areas, it was also necessary to focus renewed efforts on minimizing the negative effects of rapid urbanization on the environment.

She went on to say that, while public investment and support from development partners aimed at various social sectors had contributed to a reduction in mortality rates and changes in reproductive behaviour in certain parts of the world, those efforts needed to be geared more towards women and girls.  That need had been highlighted by the gender-related impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.  The links between the epidemic, population and development were clear.  Indeed, the epidemic was reversing decades of development achievements in many countries.

She said that the ICPD and its follow-up provided a firm base for a continuation of efforts to address population, environment and development issues.  In that regard, human beings should be placed at the centre of concerns for sustainable development.  For its part, the Union would continue to support the efforts of developing countries to achieve international development targets.  She noted the importance of a number of upcoming United Nations conferences, including the General Assembly special session on HIV/AIDS and the Second World Assembly on Ageing, in efforts to achieve a fully integrated development agenda.  She recommended that issues related to population and development be given due attention at all those events.

ANWARUL KARIM CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said that his country had been able to make considerable progress in implementing the Cairo commitments.  The aim of Bangladesh’s 1997-2002 five-year plan was to improve the socio-economic standing of its population by increasing the availability of employment opportunities and accessibility to a sustainable resource base.  Among the steps that had been taken, a government-non-governmental organization Consultative Council had been constituted, with the Prime Minister as chair.  While it focused on the goals of Cairo and Cairo+5, it would also take into cognizance Rio and Rio+5, in keeping with Bangladesh’s adherence to the 22 international environmental instruments.

In all its efforts, Bangladesh remained committed to ensuring that population, environment and poverty eradication factors were well integrated into its national policies and actions, he said.  However, the country encountered certain difficulties in implementing the policies.  Frequent natural disasters, among other things, led to environmental stress for a vast majority of the population.  Given the intense demand over natural resources, particularly land and water, ensuring safe and planned use of natural resources remained critical. 

A.R. NADA, Secretary, Department of Family Welfare of India, said that much of the United Nations work in the area of development had made it clear that the benefits of worldwide economic growth during the last century had not been evenly distributed around the globe.  Indeed, the per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of the wealthiest countries continued to grow, while the GDP of poor countries had remained stagnant or, in some cases, even declined.  Therefore, worldwide poverty indicators remained little changed during the last century. Adding to the problem, contributions expected form the World Trade Organization (WTO) had yet to fully materialize, and the debate on international trade continued to centre on the concerns of industrial countries.

He went on to note that, while presenting considerable data on demographic factors and economic growth, the report of the Secretary-General on population, environment and development did not mention the impact agricultural and energy subsidies in the North had on environmental degradation.  He said the report also

contained the “sweeping generalization” that wars, civil strife and ineffective administration were among the greatest threats to fragile ecosystems.  Such a finding was a one-sided view of a very complex issue.  It completely ignored the impact of unsustainable consumption patterns on such ecosystems.  Also, the steady decline in the availability of resources, particularly those funds that affected country development programmes, was a matter of grave concern.  He called on all those who lagged behind to fulfil their international obligations.

KIYOTAKA AKASAKA (Japan) said that the ever-increasing consumption of food and energy due to increased population -- resulting in deforestation, desertification, global warming, unmanageable urbanization, and other forms of environmental degradation -- was arriving at a critical point.  The sustainability of the Earth’s ecosystem was now gravely endangered.  Population growth also continued to put unbearable pressure on food security for many people.  Those problems were global in their scope and nature, and it was individual people who suffered.  That was why a human-centred approach was necessary. 

The widely held view persisted that economic growth, a prerequisite for coping with increasing population, was incompatible with sustainable management of the environment, he said.  However, Japan believed that economic development could be effectively pursued, without unduly burdening its ecosystem. Its own experience with rapid population growth, rapid economic development, and relatively restrained use of energy, thanks to recent energy-saving efforts, supported that conviction.  

Many developing countries had been struggling with unrelenting population growth and the resulting degradation of their environment, which, in turn, adversely affected the well-being of their people, he added.  Japan had taken a number of international initiatives to help such countries build their capacity to cope with those problems and with economic development.

WANG GOUGIANG (China) said his Government believed that the issues of population, environment and development were closely related.  Indeed, population problems were a main cause of environmental degradation, as well as a key factor inhibiting socio-economic development.  In order to ensure the coordinated development of society, the economy and natural resources, efforts to slow population growth should be coupled with efforts to control pollution and protect the environment.

He went on to highlight several strategic measures the Chinese Government would take in the twenty-first century in order to better address the issues of population, environment and development.  His Government would, among other things, work towards strengthening people’s awareness of the coordinated nature of those factors.  Efforts would be made to promote a general reduction in population growth and resource exploitation.  It was hoped that such activities would change traditional behaviour and, in effect, put prevention first, by making those who caused pollution responsible for treating it.   The Chinese Government would also promote shared responsibility at the international level for the protection of the global ecological environment. 

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