Population growth, climate change link seen

Inquirer (Philippines): The Supreme Court decision declaring the reproductive health law constitutional came at the right moment, in light of evidence that managing the country’s population is vital in coping with the impact of climate change, speakers at a health and environment conference here said on Wednesday.

Super Typhoon Yolanda had provided policy makers a view of how seriously the poor suffer from extreme weather calamities, Dr. Juan Antonio Perez, executive director for the Commission on Population (Popcom), said in a speech during the 5th National Population, Health and Environment Conference here.

Perez, in a speech read for him by Popcom Deputy Executive Director Rosa Marcelino, said he helped document these experiences when he joined the inspection of isolated and poor areas in Coron town, Palawan province, where indigenous Filipinos live.

Yolanda exited the country through Coron in November 2013, after rampaging through the Visayas and leveling Tacloban City. “Environmental impacts, including climate change, affect the lives of all people,” said Perez, a member of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program national advisory committee.

“Yet the impacts of climate change are likely to be worse for the poor and the marginalized, who have contributed little to greenhouse gas emissions and at the same time lack the resources and societal support to adapt effectively to current and future changes,” he said...