Unit 5
Population Growth, Population Explosion and Associated Issues
Learning Outcomes
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Prerequisites
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What are the main challenges of population growth? What are the main problems caused by a growing population? We are all familiar with the Malthusian theory which states that population multiplies in geometrical progression while resources multiply in an arithmetical progression. We are also familiar with overpopulation, an undesirable condition where the number of the existing human population exceeds the actual carrying capacity of the Earth. Why is there an imbalance between births and deaths? What are the issues of population growth? They include exacerbating food and water shortages, reducing resilience in the face of climate change, and making it harder for the most vulnerable communities to rise out of intergenerational poverty. Today we speak of population explosion. It refers to the rapid increase in the number of people in an area. It is a situation where the economy of the country cannot cope with the rapid growth of the population. The effects of population explosion are many and varied. Population explosion leads to environmental degradation. Higher birth rate brings more pollution, more toxic wastes and damage to biosphere. Population explosion hinders the economic development. |
Key words
Population Density, Fertility, Family planning, Social welfare, Climate change, Deforestation
Discussion
What are the main challenges of population growth? What are the main problems caused by a growing population?
3.5.1 Population Growth
Population is growing rapidly, far outpacing the ability of our planet to support it, given current practices. Overpopulation is associated with negative environmental and economic outcomes ranging from the impacts of over-farming, deforestation, and water pollution to eutrophication and global warming. With a growing population, poverty and urbanization are degrading the environment. Population pressure on arable land contributes to land degradation. The increasing population numbers and growing affluence have already resulted in rapid growth of energy production and consumption in India. Population impacts on the environment primarily through the use of natural resources and production of wastes. It also associated with environmental stresses like loss of biodiversity, air and water pollution and increased pressure on arable land. Poverty is said to be both a cause and effect of environmental degradation. Population growth and economic development are causing several serious environmental problems in India. These include pressure on land, deforestation and water scarcity and water pollution.
Population is an important source of development, yet it is a major source of environmental degradation when it exceeds the threshold limits of the support systems. Unless the relationship between the multiplying population and the life support system can be stabilized, development programs, though innovative, are not likely to yield desired results. Human population issues are extremely important when it comes to our way of life and our future on this planet. Rapid population growth in a country like India is threatening the environment through expansion and intensification of agriculture, uncontrolled growth of urbanization and industrialization, and destruction of natural habitats. Rapid population growth plays an important role in declining per capita agricultural land, forest and water resources.
3.5.2 Major issues related to population growth
Unsustainable population growth and lack of access to reproductive health care also puts pressure on human communities, exacerbating food and water shortages, reducing resilience in the face of climate change, and making it harder for the most vulnerable communities to rise out of intergenerational poverty. Overpopulation in India is causing even more problems. An increasing population living on the same land will quickly use up the limited resources the country has. Medical conditions are getting worse and diseases are spreading fast. Overcrowding leads to further demand for limited resources and this, in turn, can lead to more conflict and warfare. As humans seek out more resources, they take over land that was once the habitat of other species leading to huge biodiversity loss. Population growth is based on four fundamental factors: birth rate, death rate, immigration, and emigration. The root of overpopulation is the difference between the overall birth rate and death rate in populations. If the number of children born each year equals the number of adults that die, the population will stabilize. Talking about overpopulation shows that while there are many factors that can increase the death rate for short periods of time, the ones that increase the birth rate do so over a long period of time. The Figure 3.5.1 shows the population growth statistics of India from 2010-2020 compared to the previous years.
The fatal effects of over population are:
- Depletion of natural resources: The effects of overpopulation are quite severe. The first of these is the depletion of resources. The Earth can only produce a limited amount of water and food, which is falling short of the current needs. Most of the environmental damage seen in the last fifty-odd years is because of the growing number of people on the planet. They include cutting down forests, hunting wildlife in a reckless manner, causing pollution, and creating a host of other problems.
- Degradation of environment: The overuse of coal, oil, and natural gas has started producing some serious effects on our environment. Besides, the exponential rise in the number of vehicles and industries has badly affected the quality of air. The rise in the amount of carbon dioxide emissions leads to global warming. Melting of polar ice caps, changing climate patterns and rise in sea levels are a few of the consequences that we might have to face due to environmental pollution.
- Rise in Unemployment: When a country becomes overpopulated, it gives rise to unemployment as there are fewer jobs to support a large number of people. The rise in unemployment gives rise to crime, such as theft, as people want to feed their families and provide them basic amenities of life.
- Conflicts and wars: Overpopulation in developing countries puts a major strain on the resources to be utilized for development. Conflicts over water are becoming a source of tension among countries, which could result in wars. It causes more diseases to spread and makes them harder to control. Starvation is a huge issue that the world is facing, and the mortality rate for children is being fuelled by it. Poverty is the biggest hallmark we see when talking about overpopulation. All of this will only become worse if solutions are not sought out for the factors affecting our population.
- High cost of living: As the difference between demand and supply continues to expand due to overpopulation, it raises the prices of various essential commodities, including food, shelter, and healthcare. This means that people have to pay more to survive and feed their families.
- Malnutrition, Starvation and Famine: When the availability of resources is scarce, starvation, malnutrition, along with ill health and diseases caused by diet-deficiency such as rickets become more likely. Famine is typically associated with less- developed regions, and there is a high correlation with poverty levels.
- Pandemics and Epidemics: Poverty is linked to many environmental and social rea-sons, including overcrowded and unhygienic living conditions, malnutrition and inaccessible, inadequate, or non-existent health care, by which the poor are more likely to be exposed to infectious diseases. Further, high densities of population increase the chance of the emergence of new pandemics and epidemics.
- Water Shortage: Roughly 1% of the world‘s water is fresh and accessible. Over-population is a major issue that creates immense pressure on the world‘s freshwater supplies. As per a study, the human demand for freshwater would stand at approximately 70% of freshwater available on the planet by 2025. Therefore, people living in impoverished areas that already have limited access to such water will be at great risk.
- Faster Climate Change: Overpopulation forces larger nations, like China and India, to continue to develop their industrial capacities. They now rank as two of the three largest contributors to emissions in the world, other than the United States. According to scientists, human activities are changing global temperatures. If more is not done to reduce individual carbon footprints on a wide scale, larger populations may speed these changes up.
- Increased intensive farming: With the growth of population over the years, farming practices have evolved to produce enough food required to feed a larger number of people. However, this intensive farming methods cause damage to local ecosystem and the land may pose problems in the future. Furthermore, intensive farming is also contributing to climate change due to the machinery applied. If the population continues to grow at its cur-rent rate, this effect will likely intensify.
3.5.3 Population Explosion and its issues
In the year 2000, the world population was 6.3 billion and it is predicted to grow four times in the next 100 years. This unprecedented growth of human population at an alarming rate is referred to as population explosion. Population explosion is causing severe resource depletion and environmental degradation. Population explosion is the pyramiding of numbers of a biological population, especially the recent great increase in human numbers, resulting from increased survival and exponential population growth. Population explosion gives rise to a number of social problems. It leads to migration of people from rural areas to the urban areas causing the growth of slum areas. People live in most unhygienic and insanitary conditions. Unemployment and poverty lead to frustration and anger among the educated youth. The main effects of population explosion are the following:
- Problem of Investment Requirement: Indian population is growing at a rate of 1.8 percent per annum. In order to achieve a given rate of increase in per capita income, larger investment is needed. This adversely affects the growth rate of the economy.
- Problem of Capital Formation: Composition of population in India hampers the increase in capital formation. High birth rate and low expectancy of life means large number of dependents in the total population. In India 35 percent of population is composed of persons less than 14 years of age. Most of these people depend on others for subsistence. They are unproductive consumers. The burden of dependents reduces the capacity of the people to save. So the rate of capital formation falls.
- Effect on per Capita Income: Large size of population in India and its rapid rate of growth results into low per capita availability of capital.
- Effect on Food Problem: Rapid rate of growth of population has been the root cause of the food problem.
- Problem of Unemployment: Large size of population results in a large army of labour force. But due to shortage of capital resources it becomes difficult to provide gainful employment to the entire working population. Disguised unemployment in rural areas and open unemployment in urban areas are the normal features of an under developed country like India.
- Low Standard of Living: Rapid growth of population accounts for low standard of living in India. Even the bare necessities of life are not available adequately.
- Poverty: Rising population increases poverty in India. People have to spend a large portion of their resources for bringing up their wards. It results in less savings and low rate of capital formation. Hence improvement in production technique becomes impossible. It means low productivity of labour.
- Population and Social Problems: Population explosion gives rise to a number of social problems. It leads to migration of people from rural areas to the urban areas causing the growth of slum areas. People live in most unhygienic and insanitary conditions. Unemployment and poverty lead to frustration and anger among the educated youth. This leads to robbery, beggary, prostitution and murder etc. Overcrowding, traffic congestions, frequent accidents and pollution in big cities are the direct result of over-population.
- More Pressure on Land: Rising rate of population growth exerts pressure on land. On the one hand, per capita availability of land goes on diminishing and on the other, the problem of sub-division and fragmentation of holdings goes on increasing. It adversely affects the economic development of the country.
- Pressure on Environment: Population explosion leads to environmental degradation. Higher birth rate brings more pollution, more toxic wastes and damage to biosphere. Briefly speaking, population explosion hin-ders the economic development. It should be controlled effectively.
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Answer to Objective type questions
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Assignment
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