Experts to study population rise in world of 7bn people

The research will focus on the impact of population on progress towards sustainable economic and social development over the next 30 years and beyond. It will report in early 2012.

Human Genome Project leader Professor John Sulston is chairing the Royal Society working group.

Prof Sulston, who headed the British arm of the massive international effort to map out the human genetic code, said: "As the world's population approaches seven billion, the Royal Society has chosen to explore the complex and contentious issue of population.

"We will be examining the extent to which population is a significant factor in the momentous international challenge of securing global sustainable development, considering not just the scientific elements, but encompassing the wider issues including culture, gender, economics and law.

"The Royal Society has brought together a working group of immense expertise, but also markedly different interests, to ensure that the end report will be comprehensive and cross-disciplinary and bring understanding of population issues to the cutting edge."

The study – entitled People and the Planet: The Role of Global Population in Sustainable Development – was launched to mark World Population Day at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Individuals and organisations wanting to contribute to the research can consult the website royalsociety.org/people-and-the-planet.