7 Human Population and Environment part 2
Population explosion: The very great and continuing increase in human population
in modern times. This is a great hazard to the development and prosperity of a
nation.
Consequences of population explosion:
(i) It can lead to depletion of resources.
(ii) Severe competition for food and space.
(iii) Increase in psychological stress and strain.
(iv) Rapid pollution of environment.
(v) Large scale unemployment.
To meet the demands- of growing population, forests are cut, oceans are exploited and
the entire natural equilibrium gets disturbed. A growth human population first faces the
problem of food, then shelter and thirdly other socio-economic problems. Even if enough food
is produced and the population growth does not show a steady slow growth but explosions
then many secondary problems will certainly arise which are more persisting and problematic.
Like in increase in competition for shelter, education, medical, rise in price index, ecological
crisis etc.
Human Population: Malthus’s Human Population Theory
In 1798 T.R. Malthus published an essay on population, the great economist outlined
the problem of population graphically and stated that human population tends to increase
in geometrical pattern (1-2-4-8.......) whereas the food production increases by arithmetic
progression (1-2-3-4.........). This is called as theory of human population growth proposed by
Malthus. For nearly 150 years Malthus view was nearly forgotten as the advancement of
technologies to place. The world population during Stone Age was only 10 million as indicated
in records. Earlier the annual growth rate, in last three centuries was roughly 0.4 = 0.5%
where as it reached. to 2% in last two decades. The doubling time (the time required by a
population to double itself) reduced from 200 years in 1650 A.D. to merely 35 years in 1980.
During 1800 A.D. the birth rate and death rate was almost balanced.
Table 7.1: World Population Increase
S.No. Date Population (million)
1. 5000 B.C. 50
2. 800 B.C. 100
3. 200 B.C. 200
4. 1200 A.D. 400
5. 1700 A.D. 800
6. 1900 A.D. 1,600
7. 1965 A.D. 3,200
8. 1990 A.D. 5,300
9. 2020 A.D. (estimate) 8,230
Source: Population Reference Bureau, Inc., Washington, DC
Current Population Trends
Currently, the world population is over 5.5 billion. By the year 2010, this is expected
to increase to just over 7 billion people. In Africa, Asia, and Latin America, which already
have nearly 80 percent of the world population. The total population of Africa, Asia, and
Latin America will increase from the current 4.4 billion to over 7 billion by 20 I 0, when they
will contain 83 percent of the world’s people. These regions not only have the highest
population growth rates, but also have the lowest per capita gross national product (GNP).
The GNP is an index that measures the total goods and services generated within a country.
This large difference in economic well being is reflected in a dissimilarity in the standard
of living, an abstract measure of the degree to which necessities and comforts of daily life
are met.
Table 7.2: Population growth rates in selected countries (1993)
S.No. Country Births Deaths Infant Rate of Time Needed
per 1,999 per 1,000 Mortality natural to double
Rate (deaths increase population
per 1,000) (annual %) (years)
1. Germany 10 11 6.7 0.1 -
2. Belgium 13 11 8.4 0.2 330
3. United Kingdom 14 11 7.1 0.3 267
4. Japan 10 7 4.7 0.3 217
5. Sweden 14 11 6.2 0.3 210
6. USSR (Former) 16 11 2.8 0.6 123
7. United States 16 9 8.6 0.8 82
8. Canada 15 7 6.8 0.8 87
9. Argentina 21 8 25.6 1.3 53
10. Turkey 29 7 59.0 2.2 32
11. Paraguay 34 6 48.0 2.7 26
12. Afghanistan 49 22 168.0 2.8 25
13. Ethiopia 47 20 127.0 2.8 25
14. Zimbabwe 41 11 59.0 3.0 23
15. Guatemala 39 7 59.0 3.1 22
16. Syria 45 7 48.0 3.8 18
Source: Enger & Smith, 1995
Consequences of Continued Population Growth
As the human population continues to increase, the pressure for the necessities of life
will become greater. Differences in standard of living between developed and less-developed
countries will remain great because most population increases will occur in less-developed
countries. The supply of fuel and other resources is dwindling. The pressure for these
resources will intensify as the industrialized countries seek to maintain their current standard
of living. People in less developed countries will continue to seek more land to raise the
crops needed to feed themselves unless major increases in food production per hectare occur.
Developed countries may have to choose between helping the less developed countries while
maintaining their friendship, or isolating themselves from the problems of the less developed
nations.
Even if the industrialized countries continue to get a disproportionate share of the
world’s resources, the amount of resource per person will decline as population rises. It
seems that, as world population increases, the less developed areas will maintain their low
standard of living.
Table 7.3: Twelve most populous countries in 2025 (population in millions)
S.No. Country 1950 1992 2025
1. China 554.8 1,165.8 1,590.8
2. India 357.6 882.8 1,383.1
3. United States 152.3 255.6 295.5
4. Indonesia 49.5 184.5 285.9
5. Pakistan 79.5 121.7 281.4
6. Brazil 39.5 150.8 237.2
7. Nigeria 53.4 90.1 216.2
8. Bangladesh 32.9 114.4 211.6
9. Russia 41.8 149.3 170.7
10. Iran 16.9 59.7 159.2
11. Mexico 28.0 87.7 143.3
12. Japan 83.6 124.4 124.1
Source: Data from the Population Reference Bureau, Inc., 1993.
Environmental Implications of Food Production
The human population can increase only at the expense of the populations of other
animals and plants. Each ecosystem has a finite carrying capacity and, therefore, has a
maximum biomass that can exist within that ecosystem. There can be shifts within ecosystems
to allow an increase in the population of one species, but this always adversely affects
certain other populations because they are competing’ for the same basic resources. When
the population of farmers increased in the prairie regions of North America, the population
of buffalo declined.
When humans need food, they turn to agricultural practices and convert natural
ecosystems to artificially maintained agricultural ecosystems. Mismanaged agricultural
resources are often irreversibly destroyed. In most cases, if the plants were fed to animals,
many people would starve to death. In contrast, in most of the developed world, meat and
other animal protein sources are important parts of the diet. Many suffer from over nutrition
(they eat too much); they are “malnourished” in a different sense. The ecological impact of
one person eating at the carnivore level is about ten times that of a person feeding at the
herbivore level. If people in the developed world were to reduce their animal protein intake,
they would significantly reduce their demands on world resources.
The current situation with respect to world food production and hunger is very
complicated. It involves the resources needed to produce food, such as arable land, labour
and machines, appropriate crop selection, and economic incentives. It also involves the maldistribution of food within countries. This is often an economic problem, since the poorest
in most countries have difficulty finding the basic necessities of life, while the richer have
an excess of food and other resources. Improved plant varieties, irrigation and improved
agricultural methods have dramatically increased food production in some parts of the
world. In recent years, India, China and much of southern Asia have moved from being food
importers to being self-sufficient, and in some cases food exporters.
Population trends in India
India accounts for nearly. 1.5 per cent of the world population. Population has undergone
an approximately three-fold increase during the last 80 years. According to the census of
1901, there were 235,396,327 people in this country. The number slightly came down in
1921 as a result of some epidemics. In ‘1951, the population was 361,008,0,90, which went
up to 439,234,771 and 548,159,652 in 1961 and 1971, respectively. The main reason for the
rapid growth is fall in death rate as a result of better medical care. The sex ratio in India’
in 1981 was 1071 males per 1000 females. In Punjab in 1981, there were 1138 males per
1000 females whereas the number of males to females in Kerala was 969: 1000. The age
ratio of Indian population shows that there is high proportion of young people belonging to
the pre-reproductive age group i.e. 42.2 per cent in the age group of 0-14 years.
Table 7.4: Population estimates for some of the states in India (1991)
S.No. State/Union territory Population
1. Uttar Pradesh 1,38,760,417
2. Bihar 86,338,853
3. Maharashtra 78,706,719
4. West Bengal 67,982,732
5. Andhra Pradesh 66,304,854
6. Madhya Pradesh 66,135,862
7. Tamil Nadu 55,638,318
8. Karnataka 44,817,398
9. Rajasthan 43,880,640
10. Gujarat 41,174,060
11. Orissa 31 ,512,070
12. Kerala 29,011,237
13. Assam 22,294,562
14. Punjab 20,190,795
15. Haryana 16,317,715
16. Delhi 9,370,475
Measures to Control over Population
Various methods for discouraging population growth in shortest period are:
(i) To educate the people about the abuses of overpopulation (Population education),
food production, self-employment.
(ii) To provide free family planning aids (Family planning methods).
(iii) Motivating people to undergo sterilization process (Birth control) .
(iv) More incentives to families observing family planning norms (Limited family)
(v) By imposing legal restrictions (by laws).
(vi) Over-population is one of the numerous problems facing India. The solution of the
population problem is very urgent. The population problem can be solved by major
steps, which are given below:
(a) Education: The enormous rate at which Indian parents have been producing
children is because of illiteracy and ignorance. People should be educated
about the consequences of over-population and uses of planned and small
family.
(b) Family planning: The expression family planning means a deliberate effort,
and the adoption of suitable methods, to restrict the growth of family. That
is to say family planning involves a deliberate limitation on the size of family.
Following are some of the important family planning measures:
• Use of contraceptives (Mechanical, Chemical and Natural methods):
Contraception means the prevention of conception. There are many
contraceptive techniques available for use e.g. Today etc.
• Sterilization
• Abortion
• Use of other natural methods
Mechanical method
• Condom (For male’s use): The condom is a sheath of rubber, which fits over
the erect penis. It is placed on the penis of male before it is introduced into
the vagina for copulation.
• Diaphragm (For female’s use): The diaphragm is a rubber cup stretched over
collapsible metal spring coil. It is designed to fit over the cervix (the mouth
of uterus).
• Intrauterine Contraceptive Device (IUD): It is a small metal or plastic
device, which is designed to fit inside the uterus mouth. A doctor must fit and
remove IUD.
• Norplant: A new implant has been cleared by Health Ministry of India. The
implant placed below the skin, ensures the contraceptive power up to 5 years.
It is new contraceptive to India and there is some resistance to woman’s body.
Initially it will be used in urban areas.
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in modern times. This is a great hazard to the development and prosperity of a
nation.
Consequences of population explosion:
(i) It can lead to depletion of resources.
(ii) Severe competition for food and space.
(iii) Increase in psychological stress and strain.
(iv) Rapid pollution of environment.
(v) Large scale unemployment.
To meet the demands- of growing population, forests are cut, oceans are exploited and
the entire natural equilibrium gets disturbed. A growth human population first faces the
problem of food, then shelter and thirdly other socio-economic problems. Even if enough food
is produced and the population growth does not show a steady slow growth but explosions
then many secondary problems will certainly arise which are more persisting and problematic.
Like in increase in competition for shelter, education, medical, rise in price index, ecological
crisis etc.
Human Population: Malthus’s Human Population Theory
In 1798 T.R. Malthus published an essay on population, the great economist outlined
the problem of population graphically and stated that human population tends to increase
in geometrical pattern (1-2-4-8.......) whereas the food production increases by arithmetic
progression (1-2-3-4.........). This is called as theory of human population growth proposed by
Malthus. For nearly 150 years Malthus view was nearly forgotten as the advancement of
technologies to place. The world population during Stone Age was only 10 million as indicated
in records. Earlier the annual growth rate, in last three centuries was roughly 0.4 = 0.5%
where as it reached. to 2% in last two decades. The doubling time (the time required by a
population to double itself) reduced from 200 years in 1650 A.D. to merely 35 years in 1980.
During 1800 A.D. the birth rate and death rate was almost balanced.
Table 7.1: World Population Increase
S.No. Date Population (million)
1. 5000 B.C. 50
2. 800 B.C. 100
3. 200 B.C. 200
4. 1200 A.D. 400
5. 1700 A.D. 800
6. 1900 A.D. 1,600
7. 1965 A.D. 3,200
8. 1990 A.D. 5,300
9. 2020 A.D. (estimate) 8,230
Source: Population Reference Bureau, Inc., Washington, DC
Current Population Trends
Currently, the world population is over 5.5 billion. By the year 2010, this is expected
to increase to just over 7 billion people. In Africa, Asia, and Latin America, which already
have nearly 80 percent of the world population. The total population of Africa, Asia, and
Latin America will increase from the current 4.4 billion to over 7 billion by 20 I 0, when they
will contain 83 percent of the world’s people. These regions not only have the highest
population growth rates, but also have the lowest per capita gross national product (GNP).
The GNP is an index that measures the total goods and services generated within a country.
This large difference in economic well being is reflected in a dissimilarity in the standard
of living, an abstract measure of the degree to which necessities and comforts of daily life
are met.
Table 7.2: Population growth rates in selected countries (1993)
S.No. Country Births Deaths Infant Rate of Time Needed
per 1,999 per 1,000 Mortality natural to double
Rate (deaths increase population
per 1,000) (annual %) (years)
1. Germany 10 11 6.7 0.1 -
2. Belgium 13 11 8.4 0.2 330
3. United Kingdom 14 11 7.1 0.3 267
4. Japan 10 7 4.7 0.3 217
5. Sweden 14 11 6.2 0.3 210
6. USSR (Former) 16 11 2.8 0.6 123
7. United States 16 9 8.6 0.8 82
8. Canada 15 7 6.8 0.8 87
9. Argentina 21 8 25.6 1.3 53
10. Turkey 29 7 59.0 2.2 32
11. Paraguay 34 6 48.0 2.7 26
12. Afghanistan 49 22 168.0 2.8 25
13. Ethiopia 47 20 127.0 2.8 25
14. Zimbabwe 41 11 59.0 3.0 23
15. Guatemala 39 7 59.0 3.1 22
16. Syria 45 7 48.0 3.8 18
Source: Enger & Smith, 1995
Consequences of Continued Population Growth
As the human population continues to increase, the pressure for the necessities of life
will become greater. Differences in standard of living between developed and less-developed
countries will remain great because most population increases will occur in less-developed
countries. The supply of fuel and other resources is dwindling. The pressure for these
resources will intensify as the industrialized countries seek to maintain their current standard
of living. People in less developed countries will continue to seek more land to raise the
crops needed to feed themselves unless major increases in food production per hectare occur.
Developed countries may have to choose between helping the less developed countries while
maintaining their friendship, or isolating themselves from the problems of the less developed
nations.
Even if the industrialized countries continue to get a disproportionate share of the
world’s resources, the amount of resource per person will decline as population rises. It
seems that, as world population increases, the less developed areas will maintain their low
standard of living.
Table 7.3: Twelve most populous countries in 2025 (population in millions)
S.No. Country 1950 1992 2025
1. China 554.8 1,165.8 1,590.8
2. India 357.6 882.8 1,383.1
3. United States 152.3 255.6 295.5
4. Indonesia 49.5 184.5 285.9
5. Pakistan 79.5 121.7 281.4
6. Brazil 39.5 150.8 237.2
7. Nigeria 53.4 90.1 216.2
8. Bangladesh 32.9 114.4 211.6
9. Russia 41.8 149.3 170.7
10. Iran 16.9 59.7 159.2
11. Mexico 28.0 87.7 143.3
12. Japan 83.6 124.4 124.1
Source: Data from the Population Reference Bureau, Inc., 1993.
Environmental Implications of Food Production
The human population can increase only at the expense of the populations of other
animals and plants. Each ecosystem has a finite carrying capacity and, therefore, has a
maximum biomass that can exist within that ecosystem. There can be shifts within ecosystems
to allow an increase in the population of one species, but this always adversely affects
certain other populations because they are competing’ for the same basic resources. When
the population of farmers increased in the prairie regions of North America, the population
of buffalo declined.
When humans need food, they turn to agricultural practices and convert natural
ecosystems to artificially maintained agricultural ecosystems. Mismanaged agricultural
resources are often irreversibly destroyed. In most cases, if the plants were fed to animals,
many people would starve to death. In contrast, in most of the developed world, meat and
other animal protein sources are important parts of the diet. Many suffer from over nutrition
(they eat too much); they are “malnourished” in a different sense. The ecological impact of
one person eating at the carnivore level is about ten times that of a person feeding at the
herbivore level. If people in the developed world were to reduce their animal protein intake,
they would significantly reduce their demands on world resources.
The current situation with respect to world food production and hunger is very
complicated. It involves the resources needed to produce food, such as arable land, labour
and machines, appropriate crop selection, and economic incentives. It also involves the maldistribution of food within countries. This is often an economic problem, since the poorest
in most countries have difficulty finding the basic necessities of life, while the richer have
an excess of food and other resources. Improved plant varieties, irrigation and improved
agricultural methods have dramatically increased food production in some parts of the
world. In recent years, India, China and much of southern Asia have moved from being food
importers to being self-sufficient, and in some cases food exporters.
Population trends in India
India accounts for nearly. 1.5 per cent of the world population. Population has undergone
an approximately three-fold increase during the last 80 years. According to the census of
1901, there were 235,396,327 people in this country. The number slightly came down in
1921 as a result of some epidemics. In ‘1951, the population was 361,008,0,90, which went
up to 439,234,771 and 548,159,652 in 1961 and 1971, respectively. The main reason for the
rapid growth is fall in death rate as a result of better medical care. The sex ratio in India’
in 1981 was 1071 males per 1000 females. In Punjab in 1981, there were 1138 males per
1000 females whereas the number of males to females in Kerala was 969: 1000. The age
ratio of Indian population shows that there is high proportion of young people belonging to
the pre-reproductive age group i.e. 42.2 per cent in the age group of 0-14 years.
Table 7.4: Population estimates for some of the states in India (1991)
S.No. State/Union territory Population
1. Uttar Pradesh 1,38,760,417
2. Bihar 86,338,853
3. Maharashtra 78,706,719
4. West Bengal 67,982,732
5. Andhra Pradesh 66,304,854
6. Madhya Pradesh 66,135,862
7. Tamil Nadu 55,638,318
8. Karnataka 44,817,398
9. Rajasthan 43,880,640
10. Gujarat 41,174,060
11. Orissa 31 ,512,070
12. Kerala 29,011,237
13. Assam 22,294,562
14. Punjab 20,190,795
15. Haryana 16,317,715
16. Delhi 9,370,475
Measures to Control over Population
Various methods for discouraging population growth in shortest period are:
(i) To educate the people about the abuses of overpopulation (Population education),
food production, self-employment.
(ii) To provide free family planning aids (Family planning methods).
(iii) Motivating people to undergo sterilization process (Birth control) .
(iv) More incentives to families observing family planning norms (Limited family)
(v) By imposing legal restrictions (by laws).
(vi) Over-population is one of the numerous problems facing India. The solution of the
population problem is very urgent. The population problem can be solved by major
steps, which are given below:
(a) Education: The enormous rate at which Indian parents have been producing
children is because of illiteracy and ignorance. People should be educated
about the consequences of over-population and uses of planned and small
family.
(b) Family planning: The expression family planning means a deliberate effort,
and the adoption of suitable methods, to restrict the growth of family. That
is to say family planning involves a deliberate limitation on the size of family.
Following are some of the important family planning measures:
• Use of contraceptives (Mechanical, Chemical and Natural methods):
Contraception means the prevention of conception. There are many
contraceptive techniques available for use e.g. Today etc.
• Sterilization
• Abortion
• Use of other natural methods
Mechanical method
• Condom (For male’s use): The condom is a sheath of rubber, which fits over
the erect penis. It is placed on the penis of male before it is introduced into
the vagina for copulation.
• Diaphragm (For female’s use): The diaphragm is a rubber cup stretched over
collapsible metal spring coil. It is designed to fit over the cervix (the mouth
of uterus).
• Intrauterine Contraceptive Device (IUD): It is a small metal or plastic
device, which is designed to fit inside the uterus mouth. A doctor must fit and
remove IUD.
• Norplant: A new implant has been cleared by Health Ministry of India. The
implant placed below the skin, ensures the contraceptive power up to 5 years.
It is new contraceptive to India and there is some resistance to woman’s body.
Initially it will be used in urban areas.
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