ISSUE 1:
World population is at its peak and growing; food, water, education, housing, medical care must grow apace.
World population now stands at about 5.7 billion and rate of growth is about 1.6 percent per year. About 90 million people are added each year and it is projected that there will be 10 billion people by 2030 - whether the needs of these people can be met without economic, political, or environmental upheavals is uncertain. Urban populations are growing much faster, especially in developing countries where urban population grow five fold between 1950 - 1990 to 1.5 billion and is projected by the U.N. to grow to 4.4 billion by 2025, at which point nearly two-thirds of the developing world will live in cities. Hence, most of this growth is occurring where people have the least means to support such growth.
    Actions to address this issue that were rated the most effective and practical:

  1. Encourage research and development of new long term male and female contraceptives - led by corporations and governments.

  2. Encourage development of high-yield, sustainable agriculture, particularly through biotech- nology, lead by governments with some leadership also from NGOs and Corporations.

  3. Increase the level of social marketing programs that teach family planning, lead by NGOs with some leadership by governments.

    Other suggested actions by order of effectiveness:

  4. Establish coordinated global efforts and financial incentives directed toward increased contraceptive use - led by governments with some leadership from NGOs and UN agencies.

  5. Establish many micro-credit mechanisms to promote loans in Third World countries to women to establish new businesses - led by governments and NGOs with some leadership from corporations.

  6. Invest in rural/urban marketing and distribution systems so that rural produce can get to urban markets - led by governments.

  7. Anticipate the population growth and expedite conservation programs for agriculture, food, water and resources, such as educational campaigns and heavy taxes on meat consumption - led by governments.

  8. Promote growth of non-traditional crops with export potential in developing countries - led by governments and corporations.

  9. Encourage programs that endorse voluntary sterilization - led by governments.

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