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iikIc — one billion more people every decade — will swamp economic 

 and social progress as well as cflforts co protect the environment. Our 

 nation and all others will gain from efforts to stabilize world popula- 

 tion and to improve living standards in developing countries, where 90 

 percent of the projected population growth will occur. The burden 

 |>laccd on the environment is a product of population and consump- 

 tion. The priorities for the developed countries are to switch to sustain- 

 able technologies and to reduce wasteful consumption; the priorities 

 for the developing countries are to develop sustainably and curb popu- 

 lation growth. 



1 he United States must make a major commitment to cooperate 

 with the world conmiunity to stabilize global population, recognizing 

 the linkages between birth rates, child survival, economic development, 

 education, and the economic and social status of women. Universal 

 access to effective family-planning information, contraceptives, and 

 health care is essential. We recommend a reversal of the U.S. policy 

 that prohibits funding to certain family-planning organizations, and we 

 urge greatly increasing U.S. fundmg of international population pro- 

 grams and of economic assistance to developing countries. 



A key failure in the U.S. effort to address environmental needs has 

 been the widespread ^ilure to recognize the need for effective land-use 

 planning. We do not suggest that the federal government should pre- 

 empt the traditional roles of state and local governments in this area. 

 I'he federal government must lead the way by managing its own lands 

 consistent with the principle of sustainable development. State and local 

 governments as well as other regional groups should undertake land-use 

 planning for a variety of reasons: to protect environmentally sensitive 

 areas, including watersheds, aquifers, and wetlands; to maintain biologi- 

 cal diversity; to sustain the productivity of agricultural land; to ensure 

 that sites for economic activity are appropriate and available; to encour- 

 age energy efficiency; and to protect sites of natural beauty and of his- 

 toric and cultural value. To help make land use consistent with the over- 

 arching goal of sustainable development, we recommend the enactment 

 of federal legislation that encourages state and regional authorities to 

 develop land-use planning procedures based on such criteria. 



Sustainable development depends on integrating environmental 

 values into policy and decisionmaking across an entire spectrum of 

 governmental functions, lb facilitate integration as well as the major 



XVIII ClKK)SINO A SUSIAINAIIIJ; FmURI: 



