Land and family combined (Image: Sylvain Grandadam/Robert Harding/Getty)

For more on population, read our special feature The population delusion

A UNIQUE approach to helping farmers and communities in poor countries adapt to the destructive effects of climate change seems to be paying off. By combining environmental farming methods with family planning, the Consortium for Integration of Population, Health and Environment (CIPHE) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, says farming productivity in the Wichi wetlands in the south-west of the country has increased – although how much of this is down to a reduction in family size is not yet clear.

“This is an approach that can balance population with …