Population

Africa’s Sahel region is one of the most harsh environments on the planet with one of the highest birth rates as well. Food security, particularly when combined with population dynamics and the impact of climate change, is a monumental challenge. The Wilson Center’s Roger-Mark De Souza just returned from Niger, where he met with experts from a variety of countries for the purpose of identifying what works and what doesn’t. We discuss what he learned in this edition of Wilson Center NOW.

Population and the environment are clearly linked, but it’s not a simple equation of fewer people = fewer problems. Roger-Mark DeSouza, director of population, environmental security, and resilience for the Wilson Center, draws the line between population and every other important issue currently facing humans — climate change, urban development, global politics, poverty, the gender gap, and more — in this in-depth interview.

Read the full interview over at Beacon.

The fact that most of the Ukrainians who fled their country last year went to Russia may come as a surprise to some. The reasons for this are interesting and have been skillfully examined in recent articles. Where are the Ukrainian refugees going in Russia and what awaits them when they arrive? How are they being treated and what do they think of their new surroundings? We took a closer look at these questions in Perm, a city and region in the Ural Mountains, which in 2014 became one of the major hubs in Russia for Ukrainian refugees.

“Where is Perm?”

Every year there are major events around the world that fly under the mainstream media’s radar despite their seminal impact. Four Wilson Center scholars who are also leading journalists from some of the world’s largest media organizations tell us what they consider to be the most underreported news stories of 2014.

The playlist above features video excerpts from each of the panelists:

Author, journalist, and professor, Alan Weisman tackles the big issue of global population growth in his newest book. His travels to dozens of countries in pursuit of answers led him to one x-factor that he believes holds the key to a sustainable future. From climate change, to energy, to agriculture, population is the reality that transcends all other issues. As Weisman puts it, everyone “is addicted to energy and food,” and more people equals resources stretched beyond capacity.

Population growth is speeding toward a number between 10 and 12 billion humans by the end of the century. That rate of growth makes the challenge of building a sustainable future a daunting task. But important research presented in a new book, “World Population and Human Capital in the 21st Century,” suggests that population growth projections overlook one crucial variable that could prove to be the ultimate game changer. That’s the focus of this edition of REWIND.

The Wilson Center will be hosting an exhibit from November 21, 2014 to February 6, 2015 consisting of a collection of photographs by acclaimed Swiss photographer Jean Mohr and is entitled, “War from the Victims’ Perspective”.