‘Only flat-earthers deny we have a population problem’: Sir David Attenborough insists we must tackle growth by contraception

Warning: Sir David Attenborough has called for government action on the issue of population growth

Sir David Attenborough today urged people to break the 'absurd taboo' of not speaking about population growth and attacked the Catholic doctrine on contraception as being a major factor in the problem.



In a speech to the Royal Society of Arts in London, hosted by its president, the Duke of Edinburgh, Sir David said there was a 'strange silence' over the population issue.



Sir David said there needed to be a change in our culture so that while everyone retained the right to have as many children as they liked, they understood that having large families meant compounding the problems their children and everyone else's children would face in the future.

'I meet no one who privately disagrees that population growth is a problem. No one - except flat-earthers - can deny that the planet is finite,' he said.



'So why does hardly anyone say so publicly? There seems to be some bizarre taboo around the subject.'



He went on: 'It remains an obvious and brutal fact that on a finite planet human population will quite definitely stop at some point. And that can only happen in one of two ways. It can happen sooner, by fewer human births - in a word by contraception.



'That is the humane way, the powerful option which allows all of us to deal with the problem, if we collectively choose to do so.



'The alternative is an increased death rate - the way which all other creatures must suffer, through famine or disease or predation. That translated into human terms means famine or disease or war - over oil or water or food or minerals or grazing rights or just living space. There is, alas, no third alternative of indefinite growth.'

The naturalist called for government action to make family planning and reproductive health services freely available, with encouragement for people to use these options.



The veteran broadcaster said there was one 'glimmer of hope'.

'Wherever women have the vote, wherever they are literate, and have the medical facilities to control the number of children they bear, the birth rate falls.

'All those civilised conditions exist in the southern Indian state of Kerala. In India as a whole the total fertility rate is 2.8 births per woman. In Kerala it is 1.7 births per woman. In Thailand last year, it was 1.8 per woman, similar to that in Kerala. But compare that with the Catholic Philippines where it is 3.3.'



On the rise: Sir David said population growth would compound problems faced by future generations

He said there were 'signs of a recognition of the problem', with the Save the Children Fund mentioning the issue in a recent report and the Royal Society assembling a working party to examine population growth.



'But what can each of us do - you and I? Well, there is just one thing that I would ask. Break the taboo, in private and in public - as best you can, as you judge right.



'Wherever and whenever we speak of the environment - add a few words to ensure that 'the population element is not ignored. If you are a member of a relevant NGO, invite them to acknowledge it.

'If you belong to a Church - and especially if you are a Catholic because its doctrine on contraception is a major factor in this problem - suggest they consider the ethical issues involved.'

