Prince William warned that population growth is putting “terrible” pressure on the natural world and driving animals to extinction.
“Africa’s rapidly growing human population is predicted to more than double by 2050 – a staggering increase of three and a half million people per month,” the Duke of Cambridge said at a gala hosted by the Tusk Trust, a charity dedicated to protecting African wildlife.
“There is no question that this increase puts wildlife and habitat under enormous pressure,” William said.
“Urbanisation, infrastructure development, cultivation – all good things in themselves, but they will have a terrible impact unless we begin to plan and to take measures now,” William said, according to The Telegraph.
William seems to be channeling his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, who once called for” voluntary family limitation” to curb population growth. William didn’t mention any such measures.
Prince Charles, William’s father, is also a staunch environmentalist. In July 2009, he warned humanity had only 96 months to save the world from “irretrievable climate and ecosystem collapse, and all that goes with it.” That deadline passed with no apocalypse.
William is the royal patron of the Tusk Trust, The Telegraph reported. He warned that many endangered species in Africa, including the rhino and pangolin, are at risk of going extinct to do population growth and poaching.
“In my lifetime, we have seen global wildlife populations decline by over half,” William said.
“We are going to have to work much harder, and think much deeper, if we are to ensure that human beings and the other species of animal with which we share this planet can continue to co-exist,” he told the gala.
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