UNIT 5 Issue Analysis ASSESSMENT
After you complete this issue analysis,- assess how clearly your report and presentation
conveyed the information; - assess your presentation according to the responses of
your classmates; - assess your research skills during the development
of your report. Did your skills improve?
538 MHR • Unit 5 Population Dynamics
Sustainable Development:
Population and the Environment
Background
In 1992, the largest-ever meeting of world leaders
took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the United
Nations Conference on Environment and
Development. Commonly referred to as the Earth
Summit, this two-week event was presided over
by Canadian Maurice Strong (the conference’s
secretary-general). The goal of the Earth Summit
was to promote the idea of sustainable
development; that is, allowing present human
generations to improve or maintain their quality
of life without compromising that of future
generations. Delegates recognized that the
relationship between overpopulation and
environmental degradation is not simple, since
the conditions and practices associated with
poverty often place as much stress on the
environment as the excessive consumption of
richer populations.
One of the basic issues related to quality of
life is the availability of food; while some
people have an abundance, others are starving.
Although more equitable distribution of available
food might help solve this issue, some researchers
believe our current supply of food cannot keep
up with the demands of the growing global
population. And the more the population grows
— the greater the potential for environmental
damage. As described in Chapter 15, such damage
reduces the carrying capacity of Earth for humans,
making it difficult to produce sufficient food.The 1992 Earth Summit ConferenceA major outcome of the Earth Summit was
the development of Agenda 21, a plan for
achieving sustainable development in the
twenty-first century. Various international
agreements were negotiated, including the
Framework Convention on Climate Change and
the Convention on Biological Diversity. To
monitor the implementation of these agreements,
the UN Commission on Sustainable Development
(CSD) was established in December of 1992.
The CSD’s annual meeting provides a forum
for exchanging information and building
partnerships among nations, businesses,
industries, and other concerned groups.
In this activity, you will have the chance to
make a presentation to the CSD as part of a
group representing a specific country. You
will describe your country’s most pressing
environmental issue and the state of its
population. You will then propose solutions to
some of the identified challenges.Plan and Present
1.Working in groups of three or four, select a
country. Half of the groups within your class
will represent less industrialized nations
(for example, Bangladesh, Botswana,
Venezuela, Vietnam, or Iraq), while the other
half will represent more industrialized
nations (such as Japan, the United States,
Germany, Australia, or the Netherlands).
Your group will analyze and write a report
on the status of your country’s population
and environment. You will then summarize
this report in the form of a presentation to a
meeting of the CSD. Your analysis and
presentation should address the following
four general questions.
What is the most pressing environmental
issue affecting your country? Consider
whether the following factors have an
impact: thinning of the ozone layer, global
warming, deforestation, desertification,
air pollution, depletion of fresh-water
resources, ocean pollution, loss of