The Australian, September 18, 2007
Family planning to reduce emissions
EXPANDING family planning programs in developing countries has been identified as one of the cheapest ways of reducing global greenhouse emissions this century while helping to alleviate poverty.
By Matthew Warren, Environment writer
Heather D'Agnes, head of the population-health-environment program in the US Agency for International Development, said a rapid reduction in population growth in developing countries would play a critical role in reducing demand for energy and pressure on other environmental systems such as fisheries and land clearing.
Visiting Australia for a series of meetings and forums this week, Ms D'Agnes said aggressive programs to keep the global population to the low end of growth ranges - between 7billion and 11 billion by 2050 - was often overlooked as a relatively inexpensive and effective response to managing climate change.
The world's population is growing by about 80 million people each year, with almost all of this occurring in less developed countries, led by India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Indonesia.
In 1994, the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo estimated it would cost $17 billion a year to roll out comprehensive family planning strategies in developing countries, excluding China and the Eastern Bloc countries.
Ms D'Agnes said slowing population growth would also alleviate poverty and improve health standards.
"If you look at the history of family planning, it's not expensive, it's using our development assistance in a way that we are just not treating people's illnesses but we are giving them the ability to make decisions about family sizes," she said.
"It's not just about giving people contraceptives, it's about changing their minds about their family size."