Population: Beyond Contraceptive Technology

Abstract

On the World Population Day this year, there were two new features which are welcome: the first is the concern for environment in the context of population growth; and the second is the candid admission by the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare that we must get rid of the tyranny of family planning targets. The increasing concern for environment is no doubt a fall-out of the Earth Summit at Rio. Environment is an excellent entry point in any serious discussion on population beyond contraceptive technology. In our daily life we are all, experiencing the impact of population growth on our physical and social environment. Our cities are becoming mega slums. Our villages and small towns are unlivable. There is growing conflict and violence. It is not suggested that all these problems are on account of our explosive population growth. The nexus between population and environment is complex and the data base is weak when one considers the precise impact of population growth on environment and also the impact of environmental degradation on our population, and also
on the level of mortality and morbidity.