Abstract

While some work had been done on the linkages between human populations and the environment, the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development represents the most significant impetus yet for galvanizing government and nongovernmental policy, campaign and field activities on this complex and timely issue. The UN ICPD has accomplished the task of providing a consensus document, a "Programme of Action," which broadly appeals to the array of signatory governments, yet still provides enough new, enforceable and actionable points to achieve the stated goals of global population stabilization and environmental sustainability. The real challenges now lie with government and nongovernmental follow-up and ICPD implementation. To meet the goals of the ICPD, funding must be made available and concrete actions taken to incorporate population-related impacts on the environment into policy and field programs at international and local levels worldwide. This can be done through a combination of measures as stipulated by the ICPD. These include stabilizing human population globally by noncoercive and voluntary means; identifying critical environmental limits to support life in order to maintain the balance between people's needs and demands and the planet's capacity to respond; achieving sustainable natural resource use globally; reducing and eliminating over-consumption and concomitant pollution by a combined effort of individual consumers, retailers, producers, industries, businesses, and governments worldwide; and utilizing adaptive strategies which address the current and near-term inevitable population and consumption pressures on the environment.