PSN urges UK govt to put population on Rio+20 agenda

26 August 2011

Source: PSN

In a response to a parliamentary inquiry, PSN has called on the UK government to seize opportunities to advance sustainable development through a focus on population issues at the 2012 Earth Summit. 

Where is population at Rio+20?

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) - also known as Rio+20 /Earth Summit 2012 - will take place in Rio de Janeiro on 4-6 June 2012 to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.

The published objectives of Rio+20 are to:

• secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development
• assess the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development 
• address new and emerging challenges.
  

At the time of the first UNCSD in 1992 the world population was 5.5 billion. This year it will reach 7 billion and it is now expected to exceed 10 billion by the end of the century and keep growing. While the significant implications of population dynamics for sustainable development were recognised by the original Earth Summit, to date population dynamics have received little attention in the run-up to Rio+20.

Seeking to address this shortfall, PSN has submitted a response to a parliamentary inquiry by the Environmental Audit Committee examining the preparedness of the UK Government for Rio+20, along with the actions it should be taking to help make the Conference a success.

Ensuring population and reproductive health is on the agenda

PSN’s response to the inquiry sets out the many links between population dynamics and sustainability, including not only population growth but other demographic trends such as urbanisation and ageing which have implications for consumption patterns and other development issues.

Our submission explores the implications of population dynamics for a range of issues relevant to sustainable development, including environmental sustainability, poverty reduction, climate change adaptation and governments' capacity to make the transition to a green economy.

We argue that the success of sustainable development initiatives which fail to consider the consequences of demographic change for sustainability will be considerably limited, and opportunities to achieve more sustainable development at the same time as advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights will be lost.

Policy recommendations to the UK government

PSN believes that the UK government is extremely well placed to play a key leadership role in promoting through the Rio+20 Summit the urgent consideration of the significance of population dynamics for sustainable development. Working in partnership with the UK Department for International Development which already has a strong remit and reputation for advancing reproductive health and rights, we call on the UK government to promote an integrated approach to population, poverty and sustainable development, guided by agreement and outcomes relating to the following policy points:

• There must be greater recognition of the relationship between population dynamics and sustainability, and particularly of the potential for population stabilization to contribute to sustainable development through poverty reduction, alleviation of environmental pressures and improved quality of life (as recognised by the UN International Conference on Population and Development);
  
  
• Population dynamics should be taken into account in economic and development strategies and considered at all levels of planning, decision making and resource allocation;
  
  
• Global population dynamics can and must be addressed in ways that respect and protect human rights, placing women's needs at the heart of all reproductive health policies;
  
  
• Greater funding must be made available for rights-based family planning programmes so that all women are able to control their fertility as they wish; offering a 'win-win' approach of advancing reproductive health and rights while contributing to the achievement of sustainable development.
  

Read more about PSN's work to influence Rio+20

You can read PSN's submission to the inquiry here.

In preparation for Rio+20 PSN has also been working with the UNFPA and a number of NGOs - read more.