Greetings once again from Uganda! We have been meeting with and building partnerships with many incredible activists and organizations that are making a difference here.
This is, of course, great news, as the most recent projections from the United Nations regarding global population growth is rather grim and we need to support on-the-ground solutions that work. The UN revised its previous number to suggest that by 2050, world population will be close to 10 billion (9.8 billion to be exact). And these are mid-range projections.
Most of this growth will be here in Sub-Saharan Africa. The UN predicts the populations of 26 African countries will expand to at least double their current size between now and 2050.
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Report from the Field: Uganda
Roughly 75 percent of Ugandans are under the age of 30. Unsurprisingly, Uganda is set to increase from nearly 40 million people today to 100 million by 2050.
Yet from the environment to reproductive health, there are reasons to be hopeful. At a recent press conference on community-based adaptation, Raymond Ruyoka, with Reproductive Health Uganda, reported, “it is imperative that we invest and manage the high population growth rates in our countries.” We do this, he said, “by increasing investment in managing population growth by supporting family planning.”
People understand the urgency here and are working hard to change the narrative and help empower people and protect nature.
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Raymond Ruyoka (pictured on the far right), speaking at the National Community-Based Adaptation press conference (with Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka of Conservation Through Public Health on the far left).
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Investing in Population, Health, & Environment Equals a Thriving World
In the face of our still growing planet, Transition Earth strongly advocates for supporting voluntary family planning as a key solution. The reality is that nature will continue to be threatened until we address the needs of people who are simply trying to survive.
Read our latest blogs (The Connection Between Endangered Species and Family Planning and Pressing Ahead With Empowering Women) – written from the perspective of being on the ground in Uganda – on how connecting and investing in conservation, health and women’s empowerment can lead us down a positive path.
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Alex Ngabirano of Conservation Through Public Health demonstrating one of his main educational tools.
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World Population Day
July 11th is World Population Day. This globally-recognized day is dedicated to raising awareness on the impacts of our growing world on people and the environment. As we know, supporting and investing in voluntary family planning is a key solution to a healthy planet. This year's World Population Day theme is Family Planning: Empowering People, Developing Nations. Addressing the global unmet need for contraceptives is a game-changer for women, their families and ultimately, the environment.
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Checking in on Youth and Conservation – from Borneo to the Bay Area
Let’s not forget our friends from ASRI Kids in Indonesian Borneo. Their work is critical, as Indonesia is listed in the UN report mentioned above as one of nine countries in the world where population growth will be centered between now and 2050.*
So many youth are disconnected from the natural world today. Fostering an appreciation of the environment is as important as meeting their reproductive health needs.
Don’t take it from us. Hear what some ASRI teens have to say: "We go to ASRI Teens because it's fun and exciting, we can play in nature, we can learn about the forest, and we can learn the names of the animals and plants."
*If you are curious, the other countries are India, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, Ethiopia, the United Republic of Tanzania, the U.S., and Uganda.
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Pictured: Siska, Lalini, and Yunita, all former ASRI Kids
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Stay tuned!
Next month we’ll release our new factsheet on the Anthropocene - a brief overview of what the Anthropocene era is, and how we can meet the needs of the planet while protecting the rights of vulnerable people.
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And don’t miss the first online issue of Ecological Citizen, coming July 1st. Transition Earth is a “friend of the journal.” Sign up for alerts here.
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