PS336, Global Environmental Politics
fall semester 2005
Week 6 Outlines
Monday, September 19: Global Demographic Trends
I. Growth of Word Population
US Census Bureau, World Population Information
2005 World Population Data Sheet
NOVA, World in the Balance Interactive
II. Demographic Trends
Population Size
Global vs. Regional Trends
Changes in Population Size
Growth vs. Decline
Absolute vs. Percentage
Fertility/Mortality Rates (also life expectancy)
(Selected fertility rates-2000)
Europe 1.6
Italy 1.2
Kenya 5.7
Canada 1.9
United States 2.1
Rwanda 6.6
Uganda 7.3
Gaza Strip 8.8
Age Structure (population pyramids)
Dependency Ratios
Migration
Internal (urbanization)
International
Tuesday, September 21: National Population Problems and Policies
I. Goals of Population Policies
Anti-natalist (reduce growth rates)
(voluntary versus coercive)
Gender Balance
Pro-Natalist (stimulate growth)
Growth neutral
II. Strategies for Reducing Population Growth Rates
Direct approach (family planning, contraceptives, abortion, etc)
Voluntary (practiced in numerous countries---increasing availability of contraceptives)
Coercive (India in mid-1970s; China since 1980 -- limits on # of children---sanctions for additional ones)
Indirect approach (raising living standards, increased opportunities for women in education and employment
Kerala (southeast India) has achieved low population growth rate by improving educational and employment opportunities for women, even though it is one of the poorest regions of India.
III. Case Studies
United States (Negative Population Growth, Trends) (North Carolina Trends) (Montana Trends)
Friday, September 23: The World Population Conferences
I. What type of an international issue is population?
an environmental issue?
an economic issue
a social issue
a human rights issue
a women's issue
II. The World Population Conferences
World Population Conference (Bucharest, 1974)
International Conference on Population (Mexico City, 1984)
The Mexico City Rule
International Conference for Population and Development (Cairo, 1994)
Prominent issues at the Cairo Conference
-gender equity, empowerment of women
-family, its rules, composition, and structure
-population growth and structure
-reproductive rights, including sexual and reproductive health and mortality
-population distribution, urbanization and internal migration
-international migration and refugees
III. Other Decades/Conferences that Addressed Women's Issues
United Nations Decade for Women (1975-1985)
Major conferences held in 1975, 1980, 1985
World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna, 1993)
Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995)