Originally Posted by
Asura
Speaking in inhumane, I'm trying to make a list of ways in which overpopulation can be tackled. No method that is inhumane would be considered, which makes for a short list. Pretty much the only thing is to decrease births.
Most countries in the Global North have a relatively low birth rate, with overall decreasing populations. It's quite a simplistic model, but as medical treatment improves and infant mortality rate decreases, over time the birth rate eventually starts to decrease, with the average life expectancy rising. It does mean that there is a smaller group of working-age population expected to look after the burgeoning elderly population, who aren't cheap to keep!
Lowering birth rate needs a truly global consensus, which is never going to happen. It's easy to say that we need to improve medical treatment, but who is going to finance that? Should we encourage populations to live in extreme and almost inhospitable environments that can lead to further land degradation and desertification (such as in Sub-Sarahan Africa)? If not, what do we do with these populations?