Why are countries with low fertility asking black men to come?
We are witnessing the great era of genome exploration of the world, as genetic variation in people is being detailed across multiple varied world populations in an effort unprecedented since the first human genome sequence appeared in 2001. However, these efforts have yet to produce a comprehensive mapping of humankind, because important regions of modern human civilization remain unexplored. The Genome Russia Project promises to fill one of the largest gaps, the expansive regions across the Russian Federation, informing not just medical genomics of the territories, but also the migration settlements of historic and pre-historic Eurasian peoples.
In 2018, 21 out of the 27 countries with a fertility rate below 1.5 globally are located in Europe or East Asia. It is crucial to assess the correlation between genetic diversity and population sustainability for both scientific and conservation purposes. Rare and endangered populations often experience a decrease in genetic variation due to small population sizes and limited connectivity, which can hinder their ability to adapt to environmental changes. This reduced genetic diversity may lead to inbreeding depression, impacting the fitness of individuals within the population.
There are still many uncertainties in our comprehension of how genetic variation, fitness, and population viability are interconnected. The key to determining suitable conservation and management approaches lies in grasping the impacts of these different factors on population viability, taking into account the biology of the relevant population(s). For instance, in cases where inbreeding depression (ID) is widespread within a population or species, moving individuals between populations could enhance mate availability, outcrossing, and overall fitness (Luijten et al., 2002). On the other hand, if inbreeding depression is minimal or absent, such transplants or relocations may offer limited advantages to population viability.
Despite the efforts made by various countries to address their drastically declining birth rates, such as implementing cash incentives and appealing to patriotic duty, the desired results were not achieved. Governments around the world have been grappling with the challenge of declining birth rates for years, as this trend can have significant implications for the economy, workforce, and overall demographic structure. While financial incentives and calls to national duty were seen as potential solutions to encourage more births, the complex factors contributing to declining birth rates proved difficult to overcome.
Issues such as changing societal norms, economic uncertainties, shifting priorities among millennials, Gen Z and younger generations, and the rising costs of raising children all play a role in the declining birth rates. Additionally, factors like delayed marriage, increased focus on career development, and concerns about environmental sustainability have also influenced individuals' decisions regarding family planning.
As countries continue to grapple with this demographic challenge, despite policymakers exploring multiple strategies and initiatives to address declining birth rates effectively. The efforts that involve a more holistic approach that considers not only financial incentives but also social support systems, work-life balance policies, and broader cultural shifts that created a more conducive environment for raising families, have not worked prompting scientists to look at other reasons that infertility has hit non-African populations so hard and that despite years of forced sterilization, and socio economic pressures of family planning programs to curtail African diasporic birthrates they continue to rise as others speedily decline.
Could it be that African populations worldwide have been able to maintain high fertility levels despite pollution and chemical fertility disruptors in the environment due to their very low levels or absence of archaic ancestry? Is the abundance of Eumelanin, one of the most valuable substances on the planet, what makes black and brown skin effective in fighting skin cancer? While these questions are valid, current approaches that do not track long-lived individuals throughout their life cycle may not be sufficient to effectively test the impact of genetic variation on lifetime fitness and, consequently, population viability. There have been relatively few studies that directly examine the relationships between population genetics and population dynamics, mainly because the collection of both genetic and demographic data is not common.
Most of these studies suggest that genetic variation may indeed often benefit populations (Sub Saharan African being the most genetically diverse) (Dudash & Fenster, 2000), there are still few studies that have directly characterized relationships between genetic variation and population viability (but see Bozzuto et al., 2019; Endels et al., 2007; Hens et al., 2017; Newman & Pilson, 1997, Saccheri et al., 1998). In an era in which sequencing technology is inexpensive and demographic censusing remains costly and laborious, it is also prudent to ask whether genetic metrics (Teixeira & Huber, 2021), demographic metrics (Crone et al., 2012), or both can provide useful information about the future fate of at-risk populations of conservation concern. At the current rate by 2170, Europe’s population is set to shrink by 25 per cent from its peak in 2021, marking the largest decline of any continent. The fall in population could help mitigate climate change, and climate could be the biggest impediment to European demographic growth.
Note: Russia has the largest population among European countries at 144.7 million people. Russia's population is still declining at a record pace and by 2050 will be reduced by as many as15.4 million people to 130.6 million, equivalent to a population decline of 700,000 per year.
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