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  • Title: Children as a resource: environmental degradation and fertility.
    Author: Joekes S.
    Journal: Focus Gend; 1994 Jun; 2(2):13-8. PubMed ID: 12345527.
    Abstract:
    Through the use of case studies from Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, and Morocco, the influence of environmental degradation on women's livelihoods and fertility is broadly examined. The aim is to show how the environment impacts on women's childbearing decisions, and the consequences. The evidence appears to support the notion that environmental pressures on women will contribute to higher fertility, under conditions of gender division of labor, a very low social status for women, and women's limited educational opportunity. The Kenya experiences were among rural villages in various agro-ecological zones in Embu, on the slopes of Mt. Kenya, and involved coping strategies with poor soils and very little rainfall. The Malaysian research focused on river communities in the rain forests of Limbang River Basin in Sarawak and the logging industry and government regulation of tribal land use rights. In mountainous Tetouan and A1 Hoceimain, Moroccan populations struggle with poor social services and little rainfall. The study areas in Morocco and Kenya had very high population growth, but declining growth rates nationally. The study areas suffered from deforestation, declines in water quality and availability, and soil erosion and depletion. Family planning services would be welcome: 1) when women do not have to solely bear the responsibility for the additional work involved in environmentally degraded areas; and 2) when the value of children is not increased. Policy must recognize that where rigid gender division of labor is prominent, children are a crucial resource for women in the provision of household support. The Morocco case exemplified the extremes of men's refusal to ease women's workloads with time and labor saving technology. Family planning promotion in such situations must be accompanied by provision of alternative resources to address the adverse environmental impacts on women. Blaming women for environmental problems and family planning promotion will fail to gain credibility and the trust of women unless they are provided options.
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