Credit: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees / J.Pagonis

This month Earthscape examines the intersection of population growth and environmental impacts. These issues are complex and multidimensional so in addition to papers from Woodrow Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program and a collection of papers from the UNFPA, The UN Population Fund, several web resources are listed to more fully cover various aspects of the issues.

Educational Resources

AAAS Atlas for Population and the Environment
Population and environmental issues are, in and of themselves, extremely complex; linked, they create a whole new set of dynamics which add to that complexity. In conceiving this AAAS Atlas of Population and Environment, the AAAS International Office wanted to bring together population-environment linkages in ways that make them easily accessible to policy and decision makers, students and the general public.

The Population-Environment Research Network seeks to advance academic research on population and the environment by promoting online scientific exchange among researchers from social and natural science disciplines worldwide. The PERN eLibrary is an important and unique reference tool for classic population-environment literature; journal articles; conference and working papers; relevant data sets; and educational resources.  The purpose of cyberseminars is to provide a forum for scientists from the social and natural sciences to debate and discuss cutting edge population-environment research topics.

The Population Reference Bureau’s website has a section for educators offering tools for teaching about population issues, trends and their implications.  Their lessons plans for AP Human Geography won the 2006 Geography Excellence in Media Award, awarded by the National Council for Geographic Education.

The Worldwatch Institute’s Population Project frames the issue this way…”Our world has 6.4 billion inhabitants today. More than 3 billion will potentially be added to our human family over the next 50 years. Yet some parts of the world actually have shrinking populations. What are the impacts of these trends on economic, social, health, and environmental issues?” They've assembled population related research, links, interactives, and more.

The World Wildlife Fund devotes a section of their site to Population, Health and Environment examining the issues of reproductive health, girls’ education, HIV/AIDS and migration. 

WWF also has a “Homework Help” section with a focus on Impact of Population Growth on the Environment.

The Earth Policy Institute’s Resources on Population and Health offers a Global Population Indicator.
Eco-Economy Indicators are twelve trends that the Earth Policy Institute tracks to measure progress in building an eco-economy. When assessing the adequacy of basic resources such as land or water over time, population is the universal denominator: as population expands, per capita availability shrinks.  This page also has many valuable links.

The Sierra Club has a campaign addressing Global Population and the Environment.
Their fact sheet “Why Environmentalists Care about Family Planning around the World” provides a good overview of the issue.

The United Nations Population Division home page has links to several reports, conference proceedings and additional resources.

NOVA World in the Balance investigates the impact of forces that are radically changing populations in rich and poor nations.  Check out the interactive Human Numbers Through Time.

University of Michigan Population-Environment Fellows Program established in 1993, is the only program of its kind providing applied learning experiences to emerging PE professionals. The Program aims to develop a cadre of future PE leaders, while at the same time supporting the field's pioneering organizations and methods.

Video Seminar

Environmental Change and Security Program and USAID Series Explores Health, Population, and Fragility

The series seeks to broaden understanding of health and populations issues as part of the problem and part of the solution to instability challenges, as well as foster debate about the correlations between fragility and population dynamics such as youth, sex ratios, differential population growth rates (within and between countries), population density, urbanization, and public health.

International Workshop on Population-Poverty-Environment Linkages

Children in the New Millennium: Environmental Impact on Health

Human Population Prospects: Implications for Environmental Security

The Role of Environmental Degradation in Population Displacement