Human beings are at the centre of concern for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature. . . . Women have often played leadership roles or taken the lead in promoting an environmental ethic, reducing resource use, and reusing and recycling resources to minimize waste and excessive consumption.

Any hope the world has for sustainable development must take women into account. The Beijing signatories agreed to work towards:

• Involving women actively in environmental decision-making at all levels;
• Integrating gender perspectives in policies and programmes for sustainable development;
• Strengthening or establishing mechanisms at all levels to assess the impact of development and environmental policies on women.

At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992, the international community agreed that poverty, environment and population cannot be dealt with as separate issues (UNFPA: Population in the 21 st Century: UNFPA and Agenda 21). Rapid human population growth and migration are closely related to extensive environmental degradation. Women are an essential part of the environmental solution: they are responsible for much of the food production and for water use in poor communities, and have a special interest in improving the efficiency of these activities, as well as knowledge that will help implement such measures.

Linking Population and Development

Meeting the basic needs of growing populations is dependent on a healthy environment. UNFPA therefore supports research and analysis, public information, integrating reproductive health concerns in environmental management projects, population policy formulation, training and projects focusing on women’s role in environmental protection.

In order to create awareness of the critical links between population, environment and resources, UNFPA has produced publications, sponsored conferences and symposia, and supported certain activities of specialized organizations. The Fund also strengthened links with NGOs that support a variety of activities related to women, population and the environment.

In Mexico, for example, the UNFPA-supported Jocotepec Development Centre links population and environmental concerns. The centre began as a family life and sex-education project for adolescent girls and boys. Because of the youth's expressed concerns about diminishing water supplies and pollution, an environmental component was added.

This focused on nearby Lake Chapala, addressing the impact of local populations and pollution, and sponsoring recycling and community cleanup campaigns. The project's success encouraged duplication. A number of population and family education NGOs in Mexico now include environmental activities in their programmes, and they have come together to create the Mexico Population and Environment Network.