Topic: Environment

Rural Migrant Remittances May Protect Forests
Sprawling urban areas most obviously demonstrate the environmental impact of migration. Water scarcity, pollution, and lack of adequate housing are some of the more evident impacts of urban population growth. But migration also affects the environment of the communities from which the migrants come, and the effects may actually protect forests. (February 2012)

Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar Connect Family Planning With Environmental Health
Two programs in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar show how conservation and environmental initiatives can help extend reproductive health care to women and communities that are remote and well beyond the range of existing health care systems. These programs show the overlapping benefits attained when responding to the needs of local communities, improving environmental sustainability, and ensuring women and families' health. (January 2012)

Family Planning and the Environment: Interview With Robert Engelman, Worldwatch Institute
Family planning is a cost-effective way to improve people's lives that also benefits the environment. Yet this link has often been seen as controversial or viewed as irrelevant to environmental policy. In this interview, Robert Engelman, president of Worldwatch Institute, discusses how family planning can benefit the environment and why the gap between population and environmental concerns persists. (January 2012)

Integrating Family Planning With Conservation in Madagascar: Interview With Vik Mohan, Blue Ventures
In this video interview, Vik Mohan of the UK-based marine conservation organization Blue Ventures describes the population and environment challenges of rural coastal Madagascar and how Blue Ventures has successfully integrated family planning with ongoing conservation work. (January 2012)

2011 Human Development Report Links Environmental Degradation and Inequality
The United Nations Development Programme's 2011 Human Development Report examines the relationship between environmental degradation and inequality. Environmental challenges increase inequality, while inequalities in human development such as income, health, and education can further strain the environment. The report measures poverty with the Human Development Index (HDI), a multidimensional measure that takes in account access to health care, education, and income levels worldwide. Each country has a HDI "score," categorized into groupings of Very High, High, Medium, and Low. (December 2011)

Integrating Coffee Agribusiness and Community Health Initiatives in Rwanda
Population, health, and environment approaches address the complex links between human health, environmental management, poverty, and population pressures in order to solve problems in areas critical for biodiversity and natural resource management. A relatively new USAID funding mechanism, "wrap-around," integrates USAID health funds into existing economic growth, livelihood, and conservation projects. The SPREAD Project in Rwanda's agribusiness programs focuses on research and extension of improved agricultural and processing practices to increase coffee quality and quantity, cooperative and business development assistance for farmer cooperatives and private enterprises. (October 2011)

2011 World Population Data Sheet
Global population will reach 7 billion later in 2011, just 12 years after reaching 6 billion in 1999. Today's world population is double the population in 1967. But while the overall growth rate has slowed, the population is still growing, and growth rates in some countries show little if any decline. The Population Reference Bureau's 2011 World Population Data Sheet and its summary report offer up-to-date demographic, health, and environment data on 18 population, health, and environment indicators for more than 200 countries. (July 2011)

Packard Foundation's Investments in Ethiopia Show Promising Results
The Packard Foundation's investments in Ethiopia have focused on working with rural development organizations to extend the reach of family planning services by integrating health education and service delivery with livelihood, microfinance, and environment interventions. The recently completed informal assessment, "Reflections on Population, Health, and Environment Projects in Ethiopia: The Packard Foundation's First 3 Years Investing in PHE in Ethiopia," shows the way forward for future PHE investments, research, monitoring and evaluation, and capacity building. (June 2011)

Social Vulnerability and Resilience to Natural Disasters: Interview With Susan Cutter, University of South Carolina
Susan Cutter is a distinguished professor of geography at the University of South Carolina, where she directs the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute. Cutter researches what makes people and the places where they live vulnerable to extreme events such as hurricanes or tornadoes, and how vulnerability and resilience are measured, monitored, and assessed. In this interview, Cutter discusses disaster vulnerability, resilience, measurement, and preparedness and recovery. (February 2011)

Disaster Risk and Vulnerability: The Role and Impact of Population and Society
Increasing disaster threats on the national and global landscapes are not only a reflection of the onset of hazard events but also of the changing demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the population. A large, violent tornado, for instance, passing through an open field presents little danger. On the other hand, a relatively weak tornado can pose significant risks to human life and can result in great economic losses in densely populated areas. While the intensity of any given hazard event is important, of equal or of greater importance is the presence of a population whose demographic or socioeconomic characteristics may place its members at greater risk of harm before, during, and after a hazard event. (January 2011)