The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) published its annual Human Development Index on Wednesday, painting a grim picture of the prospects for millions of people in some of the world's poorest nations.

Droughts and rising sea levels could reverse efforts to improve living conditions of world's poorest people, report warns

Unchecked environmental destruction will halt – or even reverse – the huge improvements seen in the living conditions of the world's poorest people in recent decades, a major new UN report warned on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - The world's governments and relief agencies need to plan now to resettle millions of people expected to be displaced by climate change, an international panel of experts said on Thursday.

Resettlement related to large infrastructure development projects has been occurring for decades, with some estimates of up to 10 million people a year, said the report's lead author, Alex de Sherbinin.

The world is becoming a hungrier place - consuming more food, fuel and material resources - as its population bulges. But the increase in consumption is not even and not driven by the same factors. China and India are consuming more because their populations have vastly increased in the past 40 years. The United States, Japan and many countries in Europe are having much less population growth, but the people are using more resources. Meanwhile, many in South American and African countries have had relatively small population growth and much less increase in consumption.

THE enrichment of previously poor countries is the most inspiring development of our time. It is also worrying. The environment is already under strain. What will happen when the global population rises from 7 billion today to 9.3 billion in 2050, as demographers expect, and a growing proportion of these people can afford goods that were once reserved for the elite? Can the planet support so much economic activity?