Family planning: An emerging component of climate change

February 4, 2010 by BenAMeers

In December 2009, diplomats departed Copenhagen’s Climate Change Conference reeling from clashes over emissions and continued struggles to address one of the world’s biggest threats.  Current adaptation strategies, such as the National Adaptation Programmes of Action, assist developing countries in identifying urgent environmental response necessities.  However, emerging arguments postulate family planning can serve a strong component to climate change response—a cross-sector approach many environmental responses ignore, and one that would narrow the gap between environment and public health.

 Notably, reproductive health falls under jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health, not the Environment’s; a classification that limits available resources.  Lagged funding and agenda-setting difficulties have damned family planning’s progress in recent decades; perhaps, now, the reproductive health community can use its potential environmental impact to gain footing on political agendas and budget allocations. 

 The unmet demand for modern contraceptives results in 76 million unintended pregnancies each year.  Addressing this health need could reduce an increasing population’s role in environmental degradation, human displacement and food and water supply.  Coupling sustainable land management skills with family planning provides long-term environmental improvements and long-term sustainability which will not be eroded by rapid growth in the population.

 Few successes have been accomplished since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, which identified reproductive health education as a path toward sustainability.  This lack of progress makes the anticipation of new programs and related benchmarks a necessary and valuable exercise.  Allowing family planning resources access to climate change funding provides a multi-sector, cost-efficient environmental response.  Furthermore, increased cross-sector investment will shift the focus to human rights, an area long considered a worthy alternative to technological solutions.

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