乐鱼 体育

鈥淢y income is just right to feed us three times a day,鈥� Jason Bostero told Sam Eaton in the rural Philippine village of Humayhumay. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really, really different when you have a small family.鈥� Eaton traveled to the Philippines to report on the connections between food security and population for , creating a short film and radio piece that ran on and as part the  series last year.

At the 乐鱼 体育 on January 28, Eaton spoke about the process of creating the story and was joined by , a journalist for , who discussed the film and the challenges of reporting on population and the environment in the Philippines.

Seeing Is Believing

As an environmental journalist, Eaton said he has wanted to cover population for some time. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a really difficult subject to do in a thorough way,鈥� he said, adding that he 鈥渇elt a lot of pressure鈥� to 鈥渟trike the right balance鈥� in producing these pieces.

In the Philippines, Eaton connected with , whose  in Humayhumay had 鈥渁ll the elements of a good story.鈥� For more than a decade PATH has operated programs that combine conservation interventions with reproductive health services. By meeting unmet demand for family planning, such population, health, and environment (PHE) projects can help reduce population pressures that are impacting the environment, health, and food security of these communities.

The Philippines is an ideal target for such programs. Not only is it a biological hotspot, but it also is experiencing population pressure that puts the livelihoods of its inhabitants at risk. And there is a clear need for contraceptive services; according to the most recent Demographic and Health Survey,  have an unmet need for family planning, which means they don鈥檛 wish to have children immediately but are not using contraception.

Initially, Eaton was hesitant to tackle such an 鈥渁bstract concept鈥� as PHE, one that would likely be difficult to explore on television or the radio. But the evidence from the project in Humayhumay was convincing. Although members of the community were mostly poor subsistence farmers, Eaton noticed that 鈥渢hese people, unlike so many I had met, felt very much in control of their future, they were very empowered by this process. They spoke very articulately about future generations and about the reef and the problems that they were facing with overfishing.鈥�

鈥淲hen you have a community like this that鈥檚 so small, tight-knit, and very much living off the land and from the land, all of these things make sense,鈥� said Eaton. PHE programs aren鈥檛 just about conservation or reducing population pressure; 鈥渋t鈥檚 putting food on the table. It鈥檚 making sure that your kids have three meals a day so they can concentrate in school, so that they can go to school.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to have opportunities for your children when there are so many,鈥� he said, noting that community members 鈥渁lso understood the connection to  with these choices. If you have children that are hungry, you鈥檙e not going to think about the future of fishing tomorrow or the next day or three years from now.鈥�

Eaton has kept his experiences in mind as he prepares for his next series about the future of food, to be aired on Public Radio International鈥檚  in April or May. He recalled the struggle villagers faced between putting food on the table today and protecting the environment for future generations.

Since 鈥渋t鈥檚 the poorest and the most climate-sensitive countries that have the ,鈥� Eaton said, people in developing countries will face this choice for generations to come. And as the global population heads towards , 鈥渉ow do you produce more food with less in a way that doesn鈥檛 completely jeopardize the planet and its ecosystems in the process?鈥�

The Contraception Controversy

As a , Abano has covered 鈥渄evelopment, poverty issues, environment issues, [and] of course .鈥�

鈥淭he issues of population growth, diminishing food, and the environment are all interconnected,鈥� Abano said. 鈥淧opulation growth has long been a stumbling block for the country and its economic potential. So even before the problems [of] diminishing food supply hogged the headlines, the country鈥檚 population has long been pointed out as a factor for setting back growth.鈥�

The Philippines is one of the  in the world. 鈥淲e are beyond the carrying capacity of the country with almost 100 million [people] in a very tiny, low-lying area,鈥� said Abano.

Poverty, the decentralized nature of the country, and a  have hindered attempts to make contraceptives and reproductive health services more widely available.

But there have been recent changes. A  granting access to family planning for the poorest women in the country was passed by Congress in December after a furious national debate. Abano hopes this may be a sign of things to come.

鈥淔or how many years, we鈥檝e been relying on international donors, international aid, from USAID, from the PATH Foundation, from the United Nations?鈥� she said. 鈥淲ith the passage of this RH bill, I think we can do something for ourselves, for our country.鈥�

Raising Awareness of the Integrated Approach

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very good thing that we鈥檙e getting international attention for this problem,鈥� said Abano. Since covering environment and health issues can mean criticizing politicians, church officials, or powerful corporations, she said journalists in the Philippines often face threats. Instead of risking their careers or their safety, some will self-censor. It鈥檚 a 鈥渧ery tough job for us to be reporting on these issues, but we have the responsibility to raise awareness of such problems in the Philippines.鈥�

Eaton was gratified by the response to his reporting. 鈥淲hen these stories came out鈥 was holding my breath and waiting for the slew of hate mail to come in, and it didn鈥檛 happen,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 feel like the conversation may be changing鈥 think people really see that there is resource scarcity,鈥� and that it is difficult to address scarcity without meeting reproductive health demands around the world. In fact, after his story aired, PATH Foundation Philippines, Inc., received an influx of donations, which were used to deliver contraceptive kits to convenience stores across Bohol Island.

鈥淧ersonally, I think that鈥a] single-minded approach to aid, to programs that address this, aren鈥檛 going to work given the extreme challenges that we鈥檙e facing on this planet,鈥� Eaton said. 鈥淎n integrated approach is going to be essential.鈥�

Drafted by Carolyn Lamere, edited by Schuyler Null and Meaghan Parker