Climate and Family Planning in Ethiopia

The prognosis for Africa is startling. Even though Africans have contributed the least to climate change caused by humans, there are widespread fears that the continent will be the hardest hit.

The people are extremely vulnerable and will have the hardest time adapting to the effects of climate change due to extreme poverty and lack of resources. It's natural to focus on humanitarian aid, dwindling water supplies and unreliable farming seasons while considering the massive population whose needs won't be met. But could there be a better way to address the needs of this broad continent?

International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) reports that the Consortium for Integration of Population, Health and Environment (CIPHE) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia instead has a scheme that aims to balance population with available resources.

Since its launch in 2005, some 14,000 inhabitants of Wichi wetlands in Ethiopia have re-nourished soil with animal compost and planted vetiver grasses, which trap moisture. OK, nothing too novel there. However these families, who are being educated in environmental concerns, are at the same time being given access to contraceptives and family planning advice. The idea is that enabling communities to choose their family size to match their resources is as important as practicing sustainable farming.

To IPPF, Negash Teklu of CIPHE explains that "local people have grasped the impact of rapid population growth and become cooperative to actions that harmonize the situation."

In a report for the Optimum Population Trust, Thomas Wire of the London School of Economics calculates that each $7 spent on family planning worldwide would can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1 ton between 2010 and 2050. These reductions would come mainly from the US, followed by China, Russia and India.

Photo courtesy carrieteicher via Flickr.