New Forum Paper NPG’s Highlights Experience at COP15
- NPG
- April 11, 2023
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NPG’s New Forum Paper Highlights Activist’s Experience at COP15
COP15 Ignores Human Population Growth and Its Effect on Biodiversity
Alexandria, VA, (April 11, 2023): On December 19, 2022, the Convention on Biological Diversity’s 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) came to a close. In attendance was Rob Harding, author of Negative Population Growth, Inc’s (NPG) newest Forum paper, Adversity for Biodiversity: A Reflection on My Experience at COP15. This paper provides a first-hand account of Harding’s attendance at the Convention and reflects on the importance of including population issues when discussing biodiversity conservation. Harding shares his thoughts on the event, noting: “I began my COP15 experience questioning the capacity of the world’s national governments to set meaningful biodiversity conservation targets and then act in a way that makes such targets achievable.”
Harding, a self-described planetary health activist, believes that human population growth is an essential factor to consider when discussing conservation efforts: “If we wish to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, then it would be wise to halt and reverse human population growth, wherever such growth is occurring, no matter its source.” Given his position on population growth’s effects on biodiversity, Harding was disheartened to learn that the number of people on the planet was not covered during the conference.
In his paper, Harding points to immigration as the primary source of America’s population growth: “It’s important to recognize that the primary source of America’s unsustainable human population growth is immigration. The U.S. Congressional Budget Office projects that U.S. population growth will be driven entirely by immigration within two decades.” He concludes by emphasizing the importance of recognizing and understanding human-caused environmental change to ensure practical conservation efforts.
Global leaders must recognize that halting and reversing human population growth is crucial to preserving our planet’s biodiversity for future generations. This goal cannot be achieved without addressing immigration policy reform in countries like the United States, where populations are growing at an unsustainable rate due mainly to immigration levels. It remains essential that governments around the world consider how unchecked human population growth threatens our planet’s delicate ecosystem balance — and begin taking steps toward responsible policy reform.
NPG is proud to present this Forum paper as part of its commitment to support research and advocacy for promoting sustainable development worldwide and protecting the planet for the next generation.
Read NPG’s newest Forum Paper, “Adversity for Biodiversity: A Reflection on My Experience at COP15,” today to learn more about Rob’s thoughts on the conference and how human overshoot affects global biodiversity conservation efforts.
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