The world population surpassed seven billion in 2011. In the last 40 years itself, the population had doubled, with the growth occurring mainly in developing countries. These countries are suffering from ‘overpopulation’, which burdens the environment and natural resources, with increasing demands for air, water, energy and resources. The International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo, 1994 (ICPD) spells out inter-relationships between population, sustained economic growth and sustainable development, suggesting actions in three interrelated areas––integrating population and development strategies; population, sustained economic growth and poverty; and population and environment.
We are living in times of unprecedented demographic change and consequences. Population trends have far-reaching consequences on human development both in developed and developing countries. Hence, Nepal faces various challenges too, many related to complex relationship between population trends, reproductive health and environmental conditions. However, national plans have rarely given due attention to integrating population dynamics into development strategies. Now there is an opportunity to do so because of the coincidental timing of the upcoming national plan and the outcomes of the national census, 2011.
In the last decade, there have been major changes in fertility, mortality, mobility and migration of people in the country. It is the same decade when over 10,000 people were killed, over 70,000 displaced and more than 1400 disappeared due to war and chaos. And there are other issues related to health and ageing, disease, crimes, food insecurity, refugees, poor governance, climate change and emergency situations. Uniquely, the opening up of social spaces and associated grievances made population dynamics even more fundamental to human rights and social justice.
Now there is growing realization that the population dynamics have effects on development processes, and the reverse is also true. As explained by William J House in Pacific Health Dialog, the demographic processes of fertility, mortality, and mobility and migration determine size, structure and special distribution of the population. The resulting demographic outcomes, in turn, affect socio-economic processes that determine the level of savings, investment, land and labor utilization, level of consumption of goods and services, natural resource exploitation, public expenditure and the amount of international trade and finance. The socio-economic processes then determine the socio-economic outcomes in terms of income and distribution of income, employment, educational, health and nutritional status and environment. The socio-economic outcomes then affect demographic processes, closing the circle.
It is an opportunity when an increased human resource is utilized as producers of goods and services. In this situation, age structure and spatial distribution affect economic growth and accelerates social and economic progress. If the increased human resource is not productively utilized, it becomes a liability to the social and economic production system and retards social and economic progress. In this context, population and development integration should primarily aim at building the capacity of a couple to make rational choices about reproductive health––which is the basis for having healthy children, intimate relationships and happy families. Reproductive health is critical in the inter-relationship that underpins every child is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect. Rationale reproductive health will lead to improved participation in socio-economic processes.
In order to integrate population into development, Nepal government––in partnership with non-government organizations and the private sector––needs to invest in human resource development at all levels, with programs directed at increased access to information, education, skill development, employment opportunities (both formal and informal) and better access to gender sensitive and quality reproductive health services, including family planning and safe abortion services. Similarly, efforts should be made to eliminate inequities and barriers for women in the workforce, taking measures to strengthen food and nutrition, promoting women’s participation in policy-making and strengthening women’s access to productive resources.
There is also a complex relationship between population dynamics and the environment, ranging from unsustainable consumption and production patterns to climate change, land fragmentation and deforestation. It is increasingly recognized that the negative effects of population growth on the environment are related to population density, per capita consumption, and the technology used to produce what is consumed. It is important to use the population lens to integrate demographic factors into environment impact assessments and other development planning and decision making process at the local and national levels.
Overall, we need collective action to improve access to reproductive health services, promote gender equality, invest in human resource development and use population as an aspect of development.
The author is director at the Canadian Cooperation Office in Nepal
prabin.manandhar11@gmail.com
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