The Global Population Debate: An Analysis Of Resources

Gender biases in population policies

The unending rising numbers of people on earth has resulted to the topic of human population becoming a leading topic in global debates. The first world countries claim that the continuous growth in population is the reason behind the current problems such as drought and hunger experienced across the globe due to the high competition over the scarce resources. In this literature review, I will provide an analysis and deeper insight on the global population debate by accessing provided resources by Small, 2002, Hartman et al.  2015 and the Project Identification Form among other resources. Even though two of the provided resources do not agree with the stance that population growth is the reason behind adverse impacts on the environment, competition in the available scarce resources and a hindrance to sustainable development, the PIF adapts a different stance. I will provide an analysis on the presented problem that points out women as the main cause of population growth and I will as well provide an argument on the information presented in the PIF that counterfeits the population debate.

Most of the population policies are gender biased and have compromised the health and wellness of women as giving birth has become a main focus and claim that is associated with the rapid growth in population which in the future years would lead to unsustainability as the numbers are gradually approaching the sustainable numbers that ca be contained by the planet. Sustainability cannot in any way be related to the number of children that a women have, such assumptions have resulted in the introduction of family planning for women as they are the targeted and most blamed group in relation to population growth even though it is obvious that the correct distribution and use of technology can solve all the problems that are currently believed to originate from the rapid growth in population. It is without doubt that the solution towards the global future problems that contribute to a sustainable environment not only dwell in the growing human population which has led to efforts that can reduce the population (Khan et al., 2022). 

The idea of unattainability continues to be associated with population growth which is an aspect that has nothing to do with the rapid growth in population and has put women in a jeopardized position as they are the targeted group ton be used in controlling the population by integrating the use of family planning to limit the number of children. As mentioned earlier, putting in efforts to control the population through childbirth can never be a solution because the population continues to grow regardless. For instance, the demographics taken in the previous century indicate the continuous growth in population groath after the global authorities implemented the use of family planning among women as the most effective way of controlling birth even though it compromised a woman’s health as the users are yet to attain adequate information about the risk of family control methods. The global population has risen from approximately 1.6 billion in 1900 to 6 billion even after the introduction of family planning, meaning that there is more to focus on in solving sustainability problems other than population growth as it seems to be an aspect that can never be put into control (Grenier, 2017). It is estimated the population is likely to increase by four times in the next 100 years which puts the planet at risk of becoming unstainable to contain the extremely high population.  The population rise in the last ten years is equivalent to the total global population in the in the late 18^th century even with the new implemented measures that aim at controlling population growth. The growth is estimated to continue in the current and future centuries which means that the current population, which is at 6.2 billion is likely to reach 9 billion by the 21^st century, an increase of 50% in only two centuries and the worse demographics are yet to be attained.

Population growth and sustainability

Even with the implemented population control measures that have been out in place to attain zero population growth through the limitation of human fertility, population growth cannot be contained. The continuous growth has raised concerns about sustainable development through the developed narratives about the relationship that exists between population growth, the environment and inadequate resources to cater for the population (Khan et al., 2021). The assumptions are as well associated with the role that should be taken by women to control the population, a fact that has been disapproved by evidence in the historical times whereby there was moderate growth in population even before women were introduced to contraceptives that encouraged them to give birth to a maximum of two children, a policy that has been adapted to by most of the first world countries (Asongu et al., 2018). Even though the high fertility rates among women are associated with population growth, it is essential to note that there are other factors that contribute to the outcomes such as changes in the mortality rates as the high rates of population growth are as well attributes to the reduction in mortality rates. Therefore, unless there are implemented procedures such as deadly pandemics or global health calamities, human longevity is an aspect that would still contribute to the rising population even with the efforts to control fertility rates among women (Hartmann et al., 2016,p.74). However, there are certain reasons that contribute to resilience on the idea that population growth through high birth rates is the reason behind the challenges in attaining sustainable development even though such paradigms were disapproved in the historical times. Such assumptions make preventable calamities such as hunger and poverty alongside environmental degradation as aspects that are associated with overpopulation and such assumptions are nit right because there is no evidence to prove their viability. The global politics have made it seem like there are too many people pressing against inadequate resources and instead of pushing the blame to the poor so as to cover up the world’s powerful elites, it is obvious that many factors apart from population growth have contributed to unsustainability. Associating global sustainability with overpopulation is an aspect that has reinforced dominant masculinity in that women play a major role in contributing to the population problem through reproduction hence a woman’s fertility is a major threat to the environment. Additionally, the implicit bias about the gender paradigm in relation to the overpopulation propaganda is as well associated with the sexist stereotypes and it is a major reason why most people are not willing to use critical judgment when it comes to overpopulation paradigms.

The main critique against the overpopulation paradigm is not meant to suggest that overpopulation does not have any adverse impacts to the natural environment and the efforts to attain sustainability. It highlights other factors that contribute to the global problems that had previously been linked to overpopulation and such factors include political, economic, social and cultural aspects. In order to re think about the relationship between population and the environment, it is essential to dismantle the current paradigms as they ignore the complexity of the issue and reduce demographics dynamics into universal laws. The idea that human population growth outstrips resources should be reviewed. (Smail, 2002,p. 292) Regulators who came up with the idea overlooked the fact that the current social and technological innovations can easily boost food production to high levels that outweigh the current population growth event though the principle of overpopulation and hunger has influenced most of the environmentalists. The population narrative has associated the high poverty levels and environmental degradation experienced in rural communities with overpopulation. Such sentiments directly associate the poor with the destruction of their own environment. Such narratives are false as they lack scientific proofs are they originate from colonial policies which blamed native agricultural process for the justified land exploitation. Other land degradation processes such as deforestation, soil erosion and desertification were as well associated with population pressure and the native agricultural methods which is not true because such policies ensured that they use all means to blame poor communities as the main contributors to environmental degradation. The unjustified claims came to be widely accepted by the bilateral and the multilateral development agencies in the justification of implementing external interventions such as overpopulation control measures by encouraging the use of family planning among women.

In conclusion, it is essential to rethink the issue of population, environment and gender to attain sustainability development through just means that advocate for gender equality and socially just pathways. This does not mean that population growth does not have any diverse impacts to the environment, it means that the whole aspect that relates population as a main hindrance towards attaining sustainable development and individuals should reframe the idea. It is essential to pay close attention to processes that support the use of technology in production as an essential aspect in meeting the needs of the growing population by ending the issue of food scarcity and hunger. Global government should come up with goals and priorities that include development policies by following money trails, making the policy processes to be as transparent as possible and encouraging public and private partnerships in implementing programs that solve the environmental issues from a different approach does not necessarily involve population control. The most advocated population control measure is by women using contraceptive even though it is obvious that eh population has little or nothing to do with unattainability as new technologies can be implemented in rural areas in farming to boost production so as to cater for the global food security which is major issue in sustainability. However, the future of population growth rates as human numbers continues to grow at an extremely high level. Unless there are implemented procedures such as deadly pandemics or global health calamities, human longevity is an aspect that would still contribute to the rising population even with the efforts to control fertility rates among women through the family planning methods that they hardly have gained any essential information and such drugs could leave adverse impacts on their health outcomes.

References

Asongu, S. A., Le Roux, S., & Biekpe, N. (2018). Enhancing ICT for environmental sustainability in sub-Saharan Africa. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 127, 209-216

Hartmann, B., Hendrixson, A., & Sasser, J. (2015). Population, sustainable development and gender equality. In Gender equality and sustainable development (pp. 74-99). Routledge.

Grenier, L. (2017). Terminal Evaluation of the GEF funded UN Environment Project: Implementing NAPA priority interventions to build resilience in the most vulnerable coastal zones in Djibouti.

Khan, I., Hou, F., & Le, H. P. (2021). The impact of natural resources, energy consumption, and population growth on environmental quality: Fresh evidence from the United States of America. Science of the Total Environment, 754, 142222.

Smail, J. K. (2002). Remembering Malthus: A preliminary argument for a significant reduction in global human numbers. American Journal of Physical Anthropology: The Official Publication of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, 118(3), 292-297.

Tomislav, K. (2018). The concept of sustainable development: From its beginning to the contemporary issues. Zagreb International Review of Economics & Business, 21(1), 67-94.