Population - environment linkages in international law.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Date: 22 March 1999
• Author: Babor, Diana D.M.

INTRODUCTION

I wish the McCaugheys the best of everything for their family. Unfortunately, their children may face adulthood in a world fraught with ecological disaster because of overpopulation. There are so many humans that we are crowding out other species and changing the biosphere of the planet. It is time we all lived responsibly, with our children's future in mind. Otherwise, there may not be much of a world for our children or the septuplets to enjoy.(1)

Since the 1970's, the incidence of artificially-induced multiple births has tripled in North America. Regulations to govern assisted-reproductive technology and the provision of fertility treatments have yet to be adequately articulated in the United States even though half of all multiples born are burdened with life-long health problems.(2) While many recipients of fertility treatment have indeed been "trying for years" to conceive a child, and while ethical concerns over using selective reduction abound, it is rare to hear mention of the greater responsibility needed to limit growth and reduce excessive consumption within developed societies, so as to maintain a viable biosphere.

This article explores population-environment linkages both within developed and developing nations, and considers the consequences of a population growth rate which, as one hectare of arable land is simultaneously lost or destroyed, currently results in eight live births every three seconds.(3) In order to better comprehend the forces governing our perceptions, Part I of this article will discuss eight interactive variables which inform decision-making. Part II will examine the existence of legal duties under international law to limit or constrain our level of consumption and our right to freely reproduce, particularly as applicable in states considered free of a population "problem."

PART I

1. Anthropogenic Repercussions

   [W]e are deeply concerned that the overall trends for sustainable development are worse today than they were in 1992.... Conditions in natural habitats and fragile ecosystems, including mountain ecosystems, are still deteriorating in all regions of the world, resulting in diminishing biological diversity. At the global level, renewable resources, in particular freshwater, forests, topsoil and marine fish stocks, continue to be used at rates beyond their viable rates of regeneration.(4) As the human family continues to increase in size, a greater output of basic resources and services is required. The fact that every child born has a need for, and a human right to, food, water, shelter, clothing, an education and an ecologically-balanced environment places additional demands on existing infrastructures responsible for providing these services, as well as for sewage, sanitation and pollution control. In developing countries, slowing the population growth offers time for the state to develop services for its inhabitants and to prepare for the needs of future generations, whose options would otherwise be even more constrained.

   When slower population growth permits increased economic growth, it can also result in higher consumption. Consumption must be efficient if sustainable goals are to be achieved. Yet at any level of development, expanding populations increase energy use, resource consumption and environmental stress,(5) albeit to different degrees. Stabilization of population growth and levels of consumption must be pursued so as to maintain an ecologically-balanced environment and to keep the environment's carrying capacity within limits.

   Unsustainable levels of overconsumption and production are primarily found in affluent societies in the North where population growth is not perceived to be a problem. The wealth and status enjoyed by the North has also led to the "indiscriminate pursuit of economic growth in nearly all countries" which "is threatening and undermining the basis for progress by future generations."(6) These wide-scale activities have resulted in indisputable signs of anthropogenic ecosystem damage in, among others, the form of climate change,(7) ecosimplification(8) and freshwater constraints.(9) Although forest preservation is a mitigating force in containing the speed of damage in these foregoing realms, reaction to a proposed global forestry treaty(10) demonstrates that precaution has yet to become the norm.

   1. Climate Change

      Climate change is considered one of the most serious threats to planetary life.(11) Global warming is a consequence of the build-up of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide pollution from the burning of fossil fuels. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) believes that human-induced climate change has caused a rise in global mean temperatures by 0.5 degrees Celsius since the end of the 19th century and that a further rise of 1 to 3.5 degrees Celsius will occur before the end of the next century.(12)

      This will result in shifting climate zones, the death of mountain and boreal species, and a 14 to 17 percent loss of tropical rainforest and boreal forest.(13) Sea levels will rise anywhere from 15 to 95 centimeters and will have catastrophic consequences for some countries and island states.(14) Exposure to heat extremes will affect human health, as will the increased range of tropical diseases, parasites and insect vectors.(15)

      The recent convention in Kyoto, Japan, where a new Protocol for emissions reduction was negotiated, received mixed reviews as to its effectiveness. Developing nations undergoing rapid industrialization "rebuffed all attempts to bring them into the accord, even on a voluntary basis" and defeated "even a gently worded article that would have permitted developing countries to join the protocol at an unspecified future date."(16) That affluent nations have agreed to effectuate the trade-offs required to meet their commitments heralds an "end to using the lack of scientific certainty as an excuse to do nothing"(17) and a promotion for developing and using new technologies.(18) Indisputably, converting words to action is now compulsory.

   2. Ecosimplification

      Deforestation is a militating factor affecting the rate of climate change, as trees which absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen are removed. Commercial logging has been identified as an important cause of world-wide deforestation, and illegal logging, particularly in the Amazon, remains highly problematic. Furthermore, in contrast to a natural forest fire, clear-cutting removes the life-generating biomass trees contribute to the food chain, while the "slash and burn" approach to forests releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.(19)

      In addition, tropical deforestation is "probably the greatest single threat to the world's biodiversity."(20) Removal of forest cover results in ecosimplification meaning that "[s]pecies are losing their habitat in the unequal competition with humans. We are commandeering wildlife habitat for agriculture, cities, roads, factories, leisure and tourism."(21) Future population growth will only compound this sprawl to the utter detriment of the world's non-human inhabitants.

   3. Water Constraints

      Another non-renewable component of the ecosystem is usable freshwater, the availability of which has rarely been examined in the context of population growth. "Analysts fail to recognize the critical impacts that increased population pressures on the world's freshwater supply can have on human health, the environment, and international security."(22) Water is an "absolutely limited resource" so that "any increase in population leads automatically to lower availability per person."(23) Current unsustainable water use by urban centers, industries and agriculture result in the discharge of water contaminated with chemicals and heavy metals into the water cycle.(24) Pressures from growing populations are increasing dependence on underground aquifers as water tables and river levels fall.(25)

      Water scarcity begins with supplies falling below 1,000 cubic meters per person per year, and water stress is found in those countries with annual supplies of less than 1700 cubic meters per person. In 1990, 28 countries were in a state of water stress or scarcity, and by 2025, the number "will soar to 50 countries with 3.32 billion inhabitants" affected.(26) Significantly, deforestation reduces the freshwater supply as it results in less local rainfall. In addition, erosion resulting from deforestation reduces the amount of rainwater absorbed and thereby lowers groundwater levels.(27)

      If "sustainable development ultimately implies a stationary population,"(28) then current unsustainable environments along with the foregoing changes already in evidence will lead to very mobile populations. Human-induced environmental disasters have already given rise to at least 10 million environmental refugees, composed primarily of women with their children, and "if current trends continue unbroken, there could be major population shifts."(29) Under these circumstances, sustainable development may well come to be appraised as political rhetoric which, so as not to hinder industry, proffered "too little, too late."

2. Inefficient Per Capita Consumption

   In order to achieve sustainability, several United Nations Declarations have called for a reduction in overconsumption. Chapter 4, Paragraph 3 of Agenda 21 explicitly recognizes that "the major cause of the continued deterioration of the global environment is the unsustainable pattern of consumption and production, particularly in industrialized countries, which is a matter of grave concern, aggravating poverty and imbalances."(30) As Chapter 4 of Agenda 21 is concerned with consumption, the lack of study given to this source of ecological imbalance is acknowledged in Paragraph 6 which states that "[g]rowing recognition of the importance of addressing consumption has also not yet been matched by an understanding of its implications" and "[m]ore needs to be known about the...