Prince William’s ideas on African population stirs controversy. Last week, Prince William sparked debate by claiming that the destruction of wildlife in Africa was due to population increase.
After Prince William‘s ideas on African population goes viral, many others expressed their displeasure with the royal figure’s statement, with some linking it to “eco-fascism,” an ideology that claims humans are overburdening the world and that some populations are more accountable than others.
The philosophy has racist overtones; in other words, Black, Brown, and marginalized people are blamed for overpopulation and, as a result, environmental destruction.
The origins of the concept can be traced back to an essay titled “The Principle of Population” by English 18th-century economist Thomas Robert Malthus, which provides the groundwork for eugenics in the context of climate change.
Malthus argued that unregulated population expansion will cause food supply to fall behind, resulting in sickness, famine, and conflict.
However, addressing the Tusk conservation awards in London, the prince warned that the increasing pressure on Africa’s “fauna and wild areas” as a result of the human population was posing “a big challenge for conservationists, as it does around the world.”
The natural environment must be maintained, he said, “not only for its contribution to our economies, jobs, and livelihoods, but also for the health, wellness, and future of humanity.”
Experts have chimed in on the topic, claiming that the prince’s perception of the situation is incorrect.
According to Heather Alberro, a specialist in global sustainable development at Nottingham Trent University, correlating population expansion with climate change, or conservation, is a difficult task.
“Only focusing on human numbers serves as a red herring,” she explained. “What science is progressively showing is that extreme poverty, socioeconomic inequality, and capitalism systems based on unending expansion in order to maximize shareholder profit are stronger predictors of ecological deterioration.”
“Is it any surprise, then, that a poacher, motivated by poverty and the attractive price tag connected with ivory, would kill an elephant?”
“Reckoning with the ongoing, violent legacies of colonial capitalism, which continue to drive the exploitation of people, places, resources, other species, is an important first step towards truly transformative change,” she said.
“The irony is that recent research has found that Indigenous peoples are often the best stewards of ecosystems.”
The world’s population has surpassed eight billion people and is anticipated to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, with most experts agreeing that Africa would experience a population explosion.
However, the UN estimates that the continent contributes only 2 to 3% of global carbon dioxide emissions.
Josina, who works for the grassroots environmental group Land in Our Names and has an expertise in sexual and reproductive health, told Reuters that the overpopulation narrative is frequently tied to the “demonization of Black and Brown women’s fertility.”
“There’s a long history of Black women being blamed for having too many children. Now, what is too many? There’s no one in the royal family who will be demonized for having too many children. [United Kingdom Prime Minister] Boris Johnson has got quite a lot of kids.”
Josina’s group focuses on developing “beyond the mechanics of extraction” relationships with the land, particularly for those from Black and Brown communities.
“‘Conservation’ comes from a very colonial time. It treats people who are living there as feckless and worthy of being kicked off the land,” Josina added.
“Some of the most dangerous narratives come from upper-class environmentalists. It’s not just Prince William; it’s not just his father, it’s also David Attenborough, it’s also Jane Goodall,” they said, referring to the British broadcaster and natural historian, and English primatologist.
“All these people promote this idea that it’s other people’s irresponsibility, that it’s poor people’s responsibility.”
