People talk about doom-laden scenarios happening in the future: they are happening in Africa now. You can see it perfectly clearly. Periodic famines are due to too many people living on land that can't sustain them.

In this quote, David Attenborough, a renowned naturalist and broadcaster, highlights the pressing environmental challenges facing the African continent, emphasizing that many of the doom-laden scenarios often discussed as potential future crises are already happening in the present. Attenborough draws attention to issues such as overpopulation, resource depletion, and famine, which are severely affecting certain regions of Africa today. His statement underscores the urgency of addressing these problems, as the consequences are not just hypothetical, but real and unfolding in the present.

Attenborough’s comment specifically points to periodic famines as a consequence of unsustainable land use. He argues that the land in certain areas of Africa is no longer able to support the growing population due to factors like soil degradation, climate change, and unsustainable agricultural practices. The land’s inability to provide for the people living on it leads to food shortages, starvation, and the displacement of communities. Attenborough is drawing attention to the fact that these crises are not far-off predictions but ongoing realities that require immediate action.

The origin of this quote is rooted in Attenborough's long career as a documentary filmmaker and environmental advocate. Through his work, particularly with the BBC, Attenborough has brought attention to global environmental issues and the challenges faced by vulnerable populations. His firsthand experience with the natural world, combined with his extensive research, has allowed him to understand the interconnectedness of human population growth, resource scarcity, and environmental degradation.

Ultimately, Attenborough’s quote serves as a call to acknowledge and address the environmental and humanitarian crises that are already occurring in regions like Africa, rather than waiting for them to become future problems. By focusing on the real-time effects of overpopulation and unsustainable land use, he stresses the importance of sustainable development and global cooperation in ensuring that we can create a world where future generations do not face the same crises.