Population Problem is Overwhelming Rio De Janeiro, June 9th, 1992 (ips/luis cordova) -- an unconventional clock has been set up at 'riocentre,' the site of the rio de janeiro earth summit. instead of measuring time, it measures the planet's population and resources. at monday's plenary session, the united nations fund for population activities' (unfpa) director nafis sadik confronted the representatives from some 170 countries with the need to increase social spending as a means of curbing overpopulation. three people are born every second. with numbers flashing by at a blur, the digital counter registered 5,466,540,323 residents on the planet, at 15:17 gmt. meanwhile, in dramatic counterpoint, the same clock ticks off the loss of the earth's arable land - one hectare every eight seconds is lost to desertification. with more people and less land, the planet's demographic problem has surfaced as a major concern in many of the discussions and documents being generated at the united nations conference on environment and development (unced), running from jun. 3-14. chapter five of 'agenda 21,' a comprehensive plan of action for improving and protecting the environment in the coming century, specifically addresses the population problem. while chapter five is one of the least controversial chapters of agenda 21, it still has not been able to avoid being the target of debate, especially the paragraphs on funding and birth control. according to agenda 21, some 4.5 billion dollars annually are necessary to implement sane demographic policies in developing nations, where the population explosion is most pronounced. it goes on to say that "to implement intensive programmes and apply integrated strategies for population and environment, a commitment of some 7 billion dollars is needed annually until the year 2000." however, the paragraph is in brackets, indicating it is still under negotiation. the other sticky point is the statement that every couple, and in particular, every woman, has the right to decide how many children they wish to have, and when. the statement is a direct reference to and support of family planning and birth control, an issue vehemently opposed by the vatican and other organisations. an argentinean association of large families has been sending faxes to rio attacking agenda 21. "you are trying to control our private lives by imposing birth control in our countries," the fax states. unfpa's 1992 report states that 250,000 people are born every day, 93 million every year. at this rate, there will be 11 billion people living on the planet by the year 2100. at the same time, the world's natural resources are disappearing at an equally alarming rate. the big question becomes&emdash;how will we feed and take care of everyone? it is hoped that some answers and serious commitments will come out of the earth summit. still, sadik said it is not possible to address the population problem by forcing the poorest people to accept some international programme. instead, she said, the answer lies in efficient, well-planned sustainable development. source: en.unced.general, 12 June 1992. Back...