Pretoria (South Africa), Nov 1 (IANS) Observing that population management was the key to sustainable development, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Tuesday said population dynamics will play a key role in managing the impact of climate change.
‘Empirical evidence indicates that population dynamics will play a key role in efforts to mitigate and adapt to the effects of changes in the climate system,’ Azad said at a conference here organised by Partners in Population Development (PPD).
The PPD is an inter-governmental initiative launched in 1994 for expanding and improving collaboration in the fields of reproductive health and population. India has been the chair since the last three years.
‘Universal access to reproductive health will ultimately contribute to declines in fertility. These fertility declines would lead to population levels below those projected in most greenhouse gas emission scenarios developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,’ he said.
The health minister said the marginalised and underserved population in the developing world will be worst hit by the effect of climate change. He advised undertaking measures like providing higher access to family planning and reproductive health.
