Week 7 Population

PS536, Global Environmental Law and Policy 

Spring Semester 2008

Session Outline - Week 7 

Global Population Problems and Policies 

I.  Demographic Trends

World Population Information      World Population Growth

•         Global Population Size

• Geographical distribution of the world's population

                    Ranking of Nations by Population             (NationMaster Figures)

•         Regional and National Trends 

                   World Population Data Sheet 2007                   US Census Bureau (Population Pyramids)

• Excess Fertility and Rapid Population Growth     Yemen     (map)

Afghanistan       Uganda

• Gender Imbalance    China1     China2      Russia 

• Negative Population Growth    Spain       Japan     Bulgaria

• Stable or moderately increasing populations    United States

                Negative Population Growth (an NGO)

•       Demographic Transition

  • China

II.  Strategies for Reducing Births 

•             Direct Approaches (Family Planning)

                       Contraception

                                UN Population Division - Contraceptive Use

                        Sterilization

                        Abortion 

•         Indirect Approaches

                   Economic Development

                   Opportunities for Women  (the Kerala example) 

III.  What Type of an Issue is Population?  

• •  A Resource/ Environmental Issue?

  • An Economic Issue?

  • A Social Issue?

  • A Human Rights Issue?

  • A Women's Issue?

  • A Religious Issue

IV.   United Nations Conferences on Population 

• World Population Conference  (Bucharest, 1974)

• International Conference on Population  (Mexico City, 1984)

• International Conference for Population and Development (Cairo, 1994)

V.  Issues before the 1994 Cairo Conference

        -gender equality, equity and empowerment of women

        -family, its rules, composition and structure

        -population growth and structure

        -reproductive rights, including sexual and reproductive health, and family planning

       -maternal and infant health and mortality

       -population distribution, urbanization and internal migration

        -international migration and refugees 

VI.  Other Conferences Related to Population and Women's Issues 

• 1975    First World Conference on Women  (Begins UN Decade for Women)

• 1980    Second World Conference on Women

• 1985    Third World Conference on Women  (Nairobi) (major turning point)

• 1990    World Summit for Children  (New York City)

• 1992    Earth Summit  (Rio)

  • Principle 8:  To achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life for all people, States should reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and promote appropriate demographic policies.

• 1993    World Conference on Human Rights  (Vienna)

                    (Women's rights defined as human rights) 

• 1995    World Social Summit  (Copenhagen)

•  1995  Fourth World Conference on Women  (Beijing)

                  UNFPA, Beijing Plus Five