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Why Population Matters for CPRE “Consumption and demography are closely inter-twined. Every person must consume, and each additional person on the planet will add to total consumption levels.” People and the Planet, Royal Society 2012 Why Population Matters for CPRE The Campaign to Protect concept of Green Belts around major Rural England (CPRE) is one conurbations to slow urban sprawl. of the leading conservation But all that valuable work – organisations in England – focused, amounts, at best, to holding the as its name states, on the protection, line. sustainable use and enjoyment of As CPRE notes, the English countryside England’s countryside in particular. is “finite”, with “a little more lost” every With nearly 70,000 supporters across the year. Whereas the development pressures it country and over 200 local and regional identifies as being the cause of that loss are groups covering every English county, growing: CPRE has national and local presence – • Since 1900, the area of farmland in giving it considerable political clout. The world’s England has diminished by 12% - an human population 1 On its website, CPRE warns: overall loss of 700,000 hectares has nearly doubled “The countryside is unique, essential, • Over the same period, England’s precious and finite – and it’s in danger. over the past 40 years: population has grown by some from 3.7 billion in Every year, a little more is lost forever to 20 million people, from around 30 urban sprawl, new roads, housing and million in 1900 to over 50 million 1971 to over 7 other developments. Rural shops and currently (England and Wales = over billion today. services are closing, and increasingly 56 million) intensive farming is changing the • The UK’s population is predicted to increase character of the countryside. Climate References change, too, will have serious impacts by a further 10 million people by 2030 1 Agriculture and land use: Demand for and supply of on the rural environment.” – the majority of whom will be living in agricultural commodities, England2 characteristics of the farming and And states its mission as being: food industries, and implications • Meeting the needs of those extra 10 for land use in the UK. A. “…to stand up for the countryside: to Angus, P.J. Burges, J. Morris, million people would require the building J. Lingar, Cranfield University, protect it from the threats it faces, and Cranfield, Bedfordshire MK43 of 10 more cities the size of Birmingham 0AL, United Kingdom, Cranfield to shape its future for the better.” School of Agriculture, Food and • Together, England and Wales have Rural Development, Newcastle CPRE has done an excellent job of high- University, Newcastle upon Tyne an average 371 people per square NE1 7RU, United Kingdom. lighting the threats to our countryside and 2 kilometre. England’s people density rises 2009 UK population stood at 61 seeking to slow down its erosion by all the million. The Office of National to over 400 per square kilometre – neck Statistics projects an increase of impacts it sets out above. The organisation 10 million by 2033, ONS, National and neck with Holland to claim the title Population Projections, 2009. has a deserved reputation for using the 3 of ‘most densely populated country in http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/ planning system in defence of the countryside rel/mro/news-release/census- Europe’3 shows-population-of-england- and, in particular, for championing the and-wales-is-over-56-million/ censusengwalnr0712.html This briefing is an independent production written and researched by Robin Maynard It is NOT an official CPRE publication Principles underpinning concern about and action on Population Universality - current levels of and predicted growth in population are of concern in both developed and Overall global developing countries. biodiversity has Proportionality - curbing consumption levels of those who consume the most currently is crucial. declined by at least a third over the past 40 Equity - improving the well-being of the over 1 billion people who exist on less than $2 a day is a priority, years – with many such that they enjoy a fairer share of the Earth’s species close to available, sustainable resources. collapse. Equality - low-cost, safe family planning should be available for all women on demand as their right to control their own fertility. Choice – a voluntary, rights-based approach; coercion has no place in any strategy seeking to achieve a sustainable global population. • The UN’s medium projection for a stable • Giving all women the right to choose References 4 http://esa.un.org/wpp/ world population is 9.3 billion by 2050 – and the freedom to control their own unpp/panel_population. but the range extends from as low as 8 fertility – at least 215 million women htm; UN (2011a) World population prospects: the billion to as high as 11 billion.3 worldwide, mainly in the poorest 2010 revision. Department of Economic and Social Population growth, here in the UK and across countries, want to delay or stop their Affairs. next pregnancy, but do not have access 5 Adding it up: costs & the world, is putting increasing pressure benefits of contraceptive 5 to modern, safe contraceptive methods services. Estimates for 2012. on the ‘Global Commons’ we all rely on, http://www.unfpa.org/ wherever we live – the Earth’s atmosphere, • Achieving sustainable development that webdav/site/global/ shared/documents/ global fisheries , forests, overall biodiversity – respects the boundaries of our finite publications/2012/ AIU%20Paper%20-%20 as well as the wildlife, natural resources and planet Estimates%20for%20 2012%20final.pdf landscape of our own ‘local’ environment and • Enabling people throughout the world countryside. to plan the size of their families without Yet there is no in-depth analysis coercion or discussion of population and • Sustaining a world that is rich in nature its impacts on our countryside and renewable resources. anywhere on CPRE’s website. That omission is not unique. As one of England’s No leading environment or conservation organisation is talking publicly about leading and most respected population – possibly out of concern that they will be accused of being ‘misanthropic’, conservation bodies, ‘racist’; of ‘blaming the poor’ or perhaps because they accept fatalistically that the CPRE has a responsibility Earth’s human population will grow by at least 2 billion more people to reach 9.3 billion by 2050 and nothing can be done to prevent to address the issue of that UN projection becoming a fact? population and promote There is no justification or excuse for such fears and fatalism. this positive agenda for the Addressing the issue of population directly and in-depth offers a positive agenda that is about: good of everyone and all • Increasing the well-being of everyone life on Earth. on Earth 2 Why population matters for CPRE 3 “The UK population will continue to grow, and its demands and expectations continue to evolve. This is likely to increase pressures on ecosystem services in a future where climate change will have an accelerating impact both here and in the world at large. The UK’s population is predicted to grow by nearly 10 million in the next 20 years.” UK National Ecosystem Assessment, 20116 Relevance to CPRE As noted above, official projections are References “Government figures show a 6 http://www.defra.gov.uk/ that the UK’s population is set to rise greenfield area nearly the size of environment/natural/uknea/ by 10 million to over 70 million by 2030 7 Green Belts – Robustly Leicester vanishes under bricks, Protected or Under Threat? – with the majority of that increase www.cpre.org.uk/news/ and so infrastructure pressure occurring mortar, concrete and asphalt media-centre in England. each year – in a country which is already one of the most heavily Even the Green Belt, the built up in the world.” iconic measure maintaining distinctiveness between urban CPRE website and rural areas championed by CPRE, “as the most popular The UN’s planning policy in England and medium projection the envy of the world”, is under for a future world threat: population is 9.3 billion by 2050 – but the range • Over 1000 hectares of Green Belt land have been lost each year since 1997 extends from as ‘low’ as 8 billion to as high as • More than 45,000 homes, equivalent to a city the size of Bath, have been 11 billion. built on Green Belt land over the same period7 • A recent CPRE briefing warns that pressure is set to increase with over 80,000 houses, 7 new roads, and more Of the world’s than 1000 hectares of business parks, estimated 1.7 billion opencast – mines and other industrial ‘high-rate consumers’, development proposed on Greenbelt land (an area equivalent to a new town 50% the size of Slough). now live in the developing world. 2 Why population matters for CPRE 3 80% of people in the UK think our population is too high. Over four out of five (84%) think the world population is too high. The evidence Two recent reports highlight independent panel of eight experts before the issue of human population being approved by Council of the Royal as a, if not the key, factor in Society. impacting upon our planet and http://royalsociety.org/policy/projects/people- its sustainability for our and all planet/ species on Earth. The Living Planet report 2012 Both the current and predicted numbers of The Living Planet report is produced by people on the planet, the number of people the Global Footprint Network and the in both developed and developing countries, World Wide Fund for Nature working in and of course, per person consumption rates collaboration with the Zoological Society of in both.
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