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FOOTPRINTS and MILESTONES: POPULATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE By By 2050 world population would have shifted from the current 6.1 billion and hit a projected high of 10.9 billion, a low of 7.9 billion or a median 9.3 billion. Six countries will account for half of this massive shift: India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Indonesia. HIV/AIDS will snuff the life out of 15.5 million persons over the next five years in the 45 most affected countries. About 1.2 billion persons currently live in absolute poverty and survive on less than 100 Naira per day. Most of the "absolutely poor are female." Although the African population density of 249 persons per 1000 hectares is below world average of 442, a great deal of environmental degradation occurs here.
The State of World Population 2001 report published by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is a document that sends troubling and unsettling signals to the world. It is a call to action.
The document contains actions that can be taken to ensure that the troubling scenarios do not play out in reality. In other words, this is one report that both informs and lays out clear lines of responsibility on both governments and individuals. Once you have read this document, no person, organisation or government can claim ignorance of these dark challenges that humankind is faced with.
The report is written in simple and clear language making it readily accessible. Even where scientific facts are set out they are presented in well considered (if restrained) language and in a manner that never fails to drive in the enormity of the problems. Complex issues are laid out in usable packages and can readily be used by civil society, schools, researchers and policy makers. The presentations under clear headings also make for issue-focused use of the document. This means that although gender and environmental issues are interwoven and largely crosscutting, it is possible to rely on this report for specific or single issues. Sources are carefully documented, making the report a good source of information for scientific enquiry.
The report covers 61 pages with a further 15 pages of notes and charts. There are six chapters in all. The first chapter presents AN OVERVIEW of the entire report and in itself is a load of information. In line with the theme of this year's report all the chapters are anchored around the environment. Chapter two outlines "Environmental Trends" while chapters 3 and 4 deal with "Development Levels and Environmental Impact" and "Women In Environment" respectively.
The report makes the point of the interconnectedness of the environment, population and social development. It notes that environmental degradation does not only waste our resources but also threatens "the complex structures that support human development." Concerning the place of women in this intricate matrix, the report states, "Women's empowerment, for example, is a development end in itself. Removing the obstacles to women's exercise of economic and political power is also one of the means to end poverty." (Page 2) It further posits that reproductive health and education are both means to women's empowerment and also a human right.
Chapter 5 deals with "Health and Environment" while Chapter 6 lays out "Action for Sustainable and Equitable Development." The accompanying Press Summary is a very informative 4-page condensing of the entire report.
Climate Change is one of the most serious threats to the environment. Cutting off greenhouse gases will improve not only the environment but also our economy. It will remove the real threats of flooding and submergence of coastal lands and liberate our women from the tyranny of receding potable water sources.
This report stresses the need to involve our women in decision-making processes and in the search for clearer understanding of environmental actions that produce the results we currently only decry after the fact. In other words, we may need to review popular concepts of conservation, the importance of biodiversity, and the fundamental role of women in the management of our territories, forests and other ecosystems.
There is so much information in this report that a brief review can do very limited credit to it. Permit me therefore to present a few points from the report.
'The state of the environment largely determines the state of health of the people and their lifespan. No wonder our people say, the environment is our life. ' Water is arguably the single resource that can be used to define limits of sustainable development. Supply is fixed and we are already in a precarious balance. 'We must protect our water supply from being polluted and take steps to restore natural flow patterns to our waterways.' Soil degradation, water shortages/pollution and population rise combine to increase food shortages.' The farther the water source, the greater the burden on women. Women routinely put in up to 12 hours in housework. And they must still face other tasks such as providing for the children's nutrition, education and health needs. Many families are completely run by women. Environmental degradation directly impacts women as they battle with unproductive land, and increased health risks, among other challenges. 'Pollution has a direct impact on reproductive health. 'Lake Chad has lost 95% of its area in 40 years due to drier weather and increased dependence on irrigation. This is accompanied by emerging social and demographic changes. ' 60,000 plant species may be lost by 2025 if current genetic losses are not checked. 'Unclean water plus poor sanitation kills over 12 million people annually. '20 % of the world's population consume 86% of the resources. The poorest 20% nibble at a mere 1.3%. 'Globalisation has increased income inequality and environmental degradation. Transnational corporations, including oil and manufacturing firms top the bill here.' Global warming through release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere poses a major threat to humankind. Emission of carbon dioxide has risen 12-fold between 1900 and the year 2000. We can expect a temperature rise of as much as 5.8 degrees Celsius over the next century.
Disasters grouped by some observers as the early stage of global warming have already hit the world. In the face of such disastrous hurricanes, floods and deaths and irrespective of facts presented by scientists, many are still arguing that business must go on as usual.
Studies have shown that the world's temperature has increased by 1 degree Celsius this century and that sea levels have gone up by 10-25 cm, following the thermal expansion of the oceans. "Evidence from the ice cores, tree rings and other data suggests that the 1990s may have been the warmest decade in 600 years on a global scale."
Today the question has shifted from whether there is any global warming. The question now is when will the impacts become more dramatic and what would become of the earth.
When we look at the Nigerian scene and see how much greenhouse gases are being emitted here we ought to worry. As we noted during our workshop session, "indiscriminate gas flaring has been the lot of the people of the Niger Delta for about 40 years now. A 1995 World Bank Report has it that Nigeria flares more gas than any other country in the world. In 1989 alone Nigeria flared a reported 617 billion cubic feet of associated gas, releasing 30 million tons of carbon dioxide in the process. Up to 76% of gas is flared in Nigeria, whereas only 0.6 % is flared in the USA and 4.3% in the UK.
"The effect of gas flaring has been dramatic: continual noise, acid rain and retarded crop yield, excessive and unusual flooding, corroded roofs and lung diseases. Projects such as the proposed West African Gas project ought to lead to a reduction of gas flaring. This may not be the case if the gas to be exploited is from new gas fields.
"The Niger Delta has been touted as the biggest single industrial complex in the world contributing to global warming today. This is solely due to the gas flaring going on here."
'The population report notes that the greenhouse gas emission gap is closing between industrialised and non-industrialised nations. The reason is given as the drop in household size and the reduction in otherwise huge economies of scale. We submit that one major factor is the gradual relocation of dirty industries from those countries to the South. Increased gas flaring in Nigeria fits into this scenario. ' Deforestation must be halted for many reasons. When we lose a forest we lose a heritage, lose livelihood and increase the release of greenhouse gases. ' Environmental degradation causes and deepens poverty. Thus, environmental protection and poverty elimination are parallel objectives. ' Africa's urban growth rate of 4% is the highest in the world today. Urban centres in Nigeria stand a good chance in topping the scales with regard to waste mismanagement. Raw sewage continues to be pumped into waterways and open drains. ' There are thousands of environmental refugees in Nigeria. The Ogoni accounted for many environmental during the evil days of totalitarian rule. Many are yet to return. The advancing Sahara desert is known to displace many in its path in Northern Nigeria. Oil pollution and sea level rise is a real threat to the Southern coastline. The Middle Belt should provide a haven for the shrinking zones, but this Belt is already devastated by the scars of solid mineral mining and land hunger has already reached explosive proportions. So-called ethnic conflicts are nothing more than fights over land and scarce resources.'Environmental dislocations create the space for human and health rights abuses. Environmental rights abuses usually include severe violence against women and children.' Labour activists should cheer when the read the reports submission that research has shown scant evidence to back the position that an ageing workforce is less productive than a young one.
The report rightly states that the concept of development has shifted from the mere calculation of certain economic indicators so as the GNPs. Let us take a direct quote from the report. ".economic development; the health of men, women, children; and the status of women are all intricately intertwined. Development requires improvements in the lives of individuals, usually by their own hand." (Page 49)
The report recognises the milestones marked by global conferences such as the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development help in Rio de Janeiro in 1992; the Vienna Conference on Human Rights (1993); the International Conference on Population and Development (1994) and the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995) as well as the World Summit on Social Development (1995).They are major milestones for stimulating the inclusion of specific beneficial actions and policies in national plans. The World Summit on Social Development (WSSD) popularly known as Rio + 10 (Johannesburg 2002) will provide a milestone opportunity for critical review of progress made so far.
'Two of the critical recommendations of the report are that there should be an improvement in "the information base for more sustainable population, development and environmental practices," and the need to "implement internationally agreed actions to reduce poverty and promote social development".
LESSONS & CONCLUSIONS Let us close this review with a look at the Selected Indicators for Monitoring ICPD goals as presented in the tables at from page 67 to 73 of the report.
' The indicators show that the odds are stacked heavily against women. They are routinely disadvantaged except in the area of life expectancy where they hold a marginal advantage. They also appear to do generally better in Southern Africa. ' Recent WHO reports show that Nigeria ranks as number 187th nation out of 191 in their State of Health Report. In the Population Report, Nigeria spends the least amount as a percentage of central government expenditure on education. The expenditure stands at an unenviable 0.8%. The highest percentage in Africa is Botswana's 10.1%. ' Nigeria also spends only 0.8% on health services, ranking her higher than only Burundi (0.6%) and Sudan (0.7%) in Africa. ' When we consider the ratio of births with skilled attendants, Nigeria has 31%. Togo has 51% and Benin Republic has 60%. The average in Southern Africa stands at 81% while Northern Africa has a 68% average.
The things one could say against this report are not significant. Such would include a fairly heavy dose of repetitions. But that is so because some of the issues covered are crosscutting in nature and so resurface under the different headings. The other one concerns the identification of the main cover photograph as "Women" lining up for water in Zimbabwe. A look at the photograph shows a line up of kids of both sexes.
Article 24 of the African Charter of Human and People's Rights states quite emphatically that, All people shall have the right to (a) safe and generally satisfactory environment favourable to their development. Which environment is safe and satisfactory in Nigeria?
All is not well with the Nigerian environment. It is an environment that is fighting a losing battle of self-cleansing. Conscious actions need to be taken. A sick environment puts us all at risk, because we cannot be healthier than our environment. It is time for responsible agencies to wake up from slumber and embark on aggressive environmental rights protection. It is time to ensure that actions are not taken without due consultations with the grassroots. It is time to democratise development.
Perhaps we can conclude this review with a quote from the minutes of an UNEP consultation help last May in Nairobi, Kenya. At that meeting Ms Afifa Raihana while calling for more funds to be allocated to youth projects stated made the following statement on behalf of the youth of Bangladesh: "We, the youth of this world, we dream of living in an environment that brings us joy, not anxiety. We dream of having clean, fresh water and not turning our rivers into sewers. Above all, we dream of living, not existing. Teach us, involve us, use us." Those are the dreams of more than the youths of Bangladesh.
Let this Report challenge us. Let it get us up and thinking and doing. Thank you. Statements and reviews at the formal Presentation of the State of the World Population Report by the UNFPA on 7th November 2001 at the National Press Centre, Radio House, Abuja, Nigeria. November 2001 |