UNITED NATIONS POPULATION INFORMATION NETWORK (POPIN) UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)

Environment Experts in New York

Environment Experts Meet in New York
 
The first of the six expert group meetings, part of the preparatory process 

for the upcoming International Conference on Population and Development, 

1994, was held at United Nations Headquarters from 20 to 24 January 1992. 

Leading experts, policy makers and observers from all parts of the world met 

to discuss the complex interrelationships between population, environment 

and resources and how they affect economic development.



In her opening statement, Dr. Nafis Sadik, Secretary-General of the 

Conference, said that the convening of the meeting was an important first 

step in formulating a relevant agenda for the 1994 Conference. Dr. Sadik 

stressed the importance of population issues in achieving sustainable 

development, and said that it was particularly appropriate that critical 

linkages between population, environment and development be examined in 

light of disturbing demographic problems. She noted that population issues 

are now being given due recognition in global environmental fora.



Mr. Shunichi Inoue, Deputy Secretary-General of the Conference called for 

special attention to the policy implications of the environment-population 

nexus.



Professor George Benneh of Ghana was elected chairman. In his address, he 

emphasized the importance of the recommendations that the group would make 

to the Preparatory Committee for the 1994 Conference, which should be as 

concrete and as operational as possible. Ms. Maria Concepcion Cruz 

(Philippines), Ms. Charlotte Hohn (Germany) and Mr. Pedro Jacobi (Brazil) 

served as vice chairpersons. Ms. Hohn also chaired the Recommendations 

Drafting Committee .



Papers were presented on population aspects of environmental issues. 

Background papers were also submitted by UN agencies and organizations, 

regional commissions, NGOs and policy makers.



One of the key topics was the linkage between population and the 

deterioration of the environment. Human activity always has an impact on the 

environment, and can be expressed in the formula I = P x A x T, with I being 

the impact of human activities on the environment; P being population; A 

being per-capita consumption (determined by income and lifestyle); and T 

being environmentally harmful technology that supplies A. The three factors 

P, A and T interact in a multiplicative fashion. Whatever the size of A and 

T, the role of P is bound to be significant even when a population (numbers, 

growth rates, distribution) is relatively small. For any type of technology, 

for any given level of consumption or waste, for any given level of poverty, 

the more people there are, the greater is the overall impact on the 

environment.



This equation illustrates how the developed countries (large A and T 

multipliers) and the developing countries (large P factor) can have an 

enormous impact on the environment. Some participants however suggested that 

the real relationships between population and the environment were more 

complex than the equation suggests.



The experts also pointed out that the stress on the environment caused by 

those factors may result in a "threshold effect" of irreversible damage. For 

example, most people in the developing world depend on fuel wood and 

charcoal for their daily energy needs. As long as the number of wood 

collectors does not exceed the capacity of the tree stock to replenish 

itself through regrowth, the local community can exploit the resource 

indefinitely. But when the number of collectors grows until they finally 

exceed the selfrenewing capacity of the trees, even if only by a small 

amount, suddenly a point is reached where the tree stock starts to decline.



Critical environmental limitations have become increasingly apparent, the 

expert group concluded. It will become increasingly difficult to continue to 

use technological "fixes" to deal with environmental problems.



Participants adopted 18 recommendations which will be submitted to the 

Conference's Second Preparatory Committee in August 1993.