Overpopulation: Cause and Effect
Blog
Population
With a global community of 8 billion people, we need a more equitable, flourishing world for all people and all ecosystems. As we look to write the script for our future, we focus on solutions that touch us all. Our goal is to help create the conditions for population growth to stop naturally and of its own accord, as soon as possible, while simultaneously improving the health and wellbeing of people today.
Two Crises, One Solution
Population FAQs
Population Media Center (PMC) understands that the population issue is nested within a much larger, much more profound problem: the overexploitation of the Earth by humanity, also known as ecological overshoot. We can see the symptoms of this overshoot everywhere we look, from climate change, to species extinctions, to ocean acidification, to any number of poorly performing environmental health indicators. It all relates back to collective overexploitation of Earth by humans.
The truth is that if humans were ethereal beings, who had no impact on the natural systems they are a part of, then there would be no problem with any number of people on the planet. Our concerns about population size and growth are rooted in our commitment to the long-term wellbeing of humanity, the health and integrity of Earth’s ecosystems, and the rights of other species to live freely and prosperously. We love people and planet and want the best possible life for everyone.
Using our theory-driven, progressively oriented entertainment programs, we focus our work to improve the rights and status of women and girls across several important human development domains. We specialize in improving reproductive health, reproductive autonomy, and women’s and girl’s social status and self-determination. This is the heart of our commitment to helping population growth stop. By realizing women’s and girl’s human rights.
Within that framework, we work to destigmatize voluntary family planning, correct misinformation about the safety and efficacy of modern contraception, dismantle patriarchal opposition to contraception, and educate parents about the many health and economic benefits of smaller families.
There are nearly 8 billion people on the planet. Globally, we add more than 80 million people every year. That is more than 1.5 million added to the planet every week, more than 220,000 people every day, more than 150 people every minute. Each person needs — and deserves — sufficient land, water, shelter, food, and energy for a decent life.
At Population Media Center, we do not prescribe an ideal number for world population, but we do believe that it is a mathematical certainty that the planet and its resources cannot support continual population growth. As human populations grow, human demands for resources like water, land, trees, and energy also grow. Globally, over 220,000 people are added every day — each needs and deserves sufficient land, water, shelter, food, and energy for a decent life. We believe that if the full rights of women and girls are realized – population dynamics will change, thereby improving the health and prosperity of individuals, families, and the sustainability of the planet.
Absolutely. The Sustainable Development Goals and other international development initiatives are critical to our thinking and our work. In particular, we advance:
- SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being
- SDG 4: Quality Education
- SDG 5: Gender Equality
- The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, specifically its call to meet the unmet needs in good quality family planning services and in contraception, and to increase knowledge and use of family planning and contraceptive methods — as well as increasing awareness among men of their responsibility in family planning and contraceptive methods and their use.
- Family Planning 2030’s vision for change, including “Voluntary modern contraceptive use by everyone who wants it, achieved through individuals’ informed choice and agency.”
- The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) motion titled “Importance for the conservation of nature of removing barriers to rights-based voluntary family planning.”
Working on Population ethically
Horrific human rights abuses have been done in the name of “population.” At Population Media Center, we do not try to “limit” or “control” population. We work against oppressive practices like gender inequity, low rates of girls’ education, gender-based violence, and child marriage. After all, any practices that rob women of social power and self-determination raise global fertility. We also destigmatize voluntary family planning, correcting misinformation about modern contraception, dismantling patriarchal dominance, and educating parents about the health and economic benefits of smaller families.
Every Action Counts
To write the script for the future of Earth, we are addressing harmful social norms and empowering choices for women and girls, resulting in healthier populations. Our transformative storytelling approach gives women the ability to make their own choices, including deciding if and when to have children. Storylines written by local creative teams focus on destigmatizing family planning, correcting misconceptions about the safety and efficiency of modern contraception, and educating parents about the many health and economic benefits of smaller families.
