One Million Species Face Extinction: May Members' Update

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POPULATION MATTERS MEMBERS' UPDATE

MAY 2019

Director's message

America’s shame, Africa’s honour

Eleven US states have now passed restrictive abortion laws preventing women terminating a pregnancy – in the case of Alabama, with no exceptions, even if the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest. The overall objective being to overturn the 1973 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Roe V Wade, which made it a constitutional right for American women to seek an abortion if they chose to.

Within 3 years of that ruling, abortion related deaths had fallen by 40 million.

This regressive domestic situation is mirrored internationally by the Trump administration cutting US foreign aid to any project or organisation that isn’t 100% opposed to abortion. The so-called ‘Global Gag’, cutting $2.2 billion of aid for family planning and healthcare, is estimated to result in 2.5 million unwanted pregnancies, 870,000 unsafe abortions, and 7,000 maternal deaths annually – primarily in poor countries. So making the work of Dandelion Africa even more crucial and worthy of our support.

If anyone deserves a reception at the Palace, it is Wendo Aszed, rather than someone presiding over the removal of women’s rights domestically and internationally.

NEWS FROM POPULATION MATTERS

Here is a round up of our news

Help Dandelion Africa transform rural communities in Kenya

Boys for Change is a Dandelion Africa project which trains boys and young men to teach both girls and boys in schools about contraception, women’s rights, FGM and menstruation cycles. PM is supporting the programme through our Empower to Plan crowdfunding platform. Thanks to all of you, who have already contributed. Support Boys for Change

How many people can live on planet Earth?

The BBC has made available Sir David Attenborough’s landmark 2009 documentary on global population. It will be available for viewing for the next 7 days only. If you’re based in the UK, you can watch it on iPlayer – please also share it with as many people as you can.

Get a taste of our 2019 conference

See the brand new 5 minute video of our amazing biodiversity conference in April, The Last Elephant in the Room. Featuring clips of presentations and interviews with our panellists, it’s a great short record of the event. All the speakers' presentations are now available on YouTube. Once again, thanks to all who attended and those that helped us in sharing our posts on difference social media channels.

Watch the conference videos

POPULATION

Small families around the world share their thoughts

The words of Vanessa, from Australia, were typical of many testimonies we received in talking about the motivations for choosing a smaller family and the benefits of it.

“My husband and I made the decision to stop after our first child was born because in first world countries like Australia the impact of each child on the environment is especially large...".

Media starts to address the P-word

The New Scientist is the latest influential publication to address population. After years of silence or dismissal, the debate on family size and environmental impact is finally starting to get the attention it so badly needs.

ENVIRONMENT

One million species face extinction unless we address population growth

A major new UN report on the state of the world’s biodiversity grabbed headlines this month with its alarming message that nature is being destroyed faster than ever before. Three-quarters of all land environments and two-thirds of all marine environments have been severely damaged by humans over the past five decades, leading to one million species now threatened with extinction.

Climate change could mean more kids, not less

Researchers in a new paper in Environmental Research Letters found that global warming will increase the number of children people have while lowering the value of education.

Population quote

“When it comes to tackling climate change and extreme weather, we ignore population at our peril.”

- Emma Woods, Royal Society, Head of Policy, Wellbeing

WOMEN'S RIGHTS & SEXUAL HEALTH

Alabama lawmakers stamp a claim on womens' bodies

Lawmakers in Alabama passed America’s most restrictive abortion bill. It would outlaw abortion at any stage of pregnancy, including for survivors of rape or incest, and threatens abortion providers with a prison sentence of up to 99 years

66% of school girls bullied because of their period miss classes

One in five girls and young women in the UK are teased or bullied about their periods, with many suffering in silence, according to research.

TAKE ACTION

Human Population and the Convention on Biodiversity

Please contact your government to ask for action on human population to be included in the CBD's programme after 2020. The Convention on Biodiversity is the key international agreement protecting global biodiversity. It obliges signatory governments to develop plans to protect biodiversity in their own nations, sets targets and coordinates international action.

Learn more

Join the Climate Coalition mass lobby

On Wednesday, 26 June, look out for a group wearing condoms at Trafalgar Square at 12:30pm. That will be us. If you are in the UK, we join thousands of people at Westminster, central London, to call on our politicians to take urgent climate action. Population Matters is part of the Climate Coalition, which is organising the event. We aim to put the population message on the climate change and public agenda. Write your letter today

Join us