World is facing a population crisis

16 May 2009 | Leicester Mercury

(Headline by Leicester Mercury)

Dr Francisca Martinez quotes UNESCO’s Education website’s comments on one of ten ‘Population myths’. Their comments on these ‘myths’ imply that population increase is not a problem, at least as far as hunger is concerned.

On the other hand, Prof. Shahbaz Khan, UNESCO’s chief of sustainable water resources development, speaking in Canberra on July 22, 2008 said, “Climate change is one of a number of stresses we’re facing, but it’s overshadowed by global population growth and the amount of water, land and energy needed to grow food to meet the projected increase in population. We are facing a world population crisis.”

Many countries in the Far East and in Africa over the last fifty years have worked hard to escape from great poverty. In the Far East most countries provided family planning for their people and now have stabilising populations and increasing prosperity. In Africa most countries dismissed family planning and now have rocketing populations and poverty.  For the sake of the very poor, I hope that Prof. Khan wins the argument.