Dear Friends,
This will be my last ‘Director’s introduction,’ which I’m sad about as it is (or rather was) one of my writing responsibilities that I most looked forward to and enjoyed thinking about. As one of the rare occasions when I’m able to speak to you, PM’s members and supporters, people who get what PM is about and trying to do - speaking directly and without sugaring the pill! Just as our two other contributors this month, our President, Jonathon Porritt, and our Patron, Professor John Guillebaud, do in their pieces. Both are much longer-standing champions of the population issue than me – who along with our former Chair, Roger Martin, inspired and encouraged me to first become involved with Population Matters, then known as The Optimum Population Trust. I relish the righteous, reasoned rage in Jonathon’s blog calling out the ‘population denial’ and blanking of World Population Day by “every single environmental and development organisation here in the UK – and by the Green Party.” A Green Movement and Green Party, which he has contributed so much to over more than four decades. The razor edge to his piece is in genuinely recognising their many good works, whilst holding “the deepest contempt for that continuing silence” on the population factor. A factor which if addressed through the available, affordable, and wanted solutions of safe, modern family planning allied with quality education would bring the greatest benefit to millions of girls and women globally, as well as easing the stresses on our planet. Simple medical interventions and personal choices that John Guillebaud has been championing his entire professional career with extraordinary persistence and patience: “It gives me/us zero pleasure to be proved right, in our warnings over so many decades… The primary, quicker-acting, objective remains to keep fossil fuels in the ground. This is quite simply not happening, with the required urgency or at the necessary scale. Yet, proper resourcing of world contraception-care services (increasing them to at least 2% from the current derisory 1% of international aid) is an important ADDITIONAL climatic intervention, needed now (though slower-acting because of the phenomenon of population momentum). Indeed, it is the most cost-effective one there is.” Others’ words are more appropriate than mine for this update. But I was pleased to be able to send out a note to you all earlier, setting out my reasons for stepping down after seven years in the job. So, I want to end by thanking all of you as PM’s supporters, especially those who responded with some really generous, heartwarming words of thanks and encouragement for whatever comes next. And especially encouraging to hear that a good number of you have been and remain active well beyond my mere 65 years! Robin Maynard
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