Today the world population is estimated at over six billion. A major cause of environmental degradation in african countries is a population growth. Human population as a dynamic factor in environmental degradation. The world bank joined the consensus when in the 1992 world. Mahatma gandhis principle of enoughness in his saying the earth provides enough to satisfy every persons need but not for every persons greed. What are environmental problems due to population growth. At the time of writing there are seven billion people on the planet and this number is projected to grow in a short period of time. Over the last half century the population of the world has exploded. As might be imagined population growth has positive and negative effects on development.
One of the major causes of environmental degradation in ethiopia could be attributed to rapid growth of population, which is adversely affecting the natural resources and environment. The main reasons responsible for environmental degradation are as follows. Birth increases the population while death decreases the population. There is a longstanding dispute on the extent to which population growth causes environmental degradation. He believed that social exploitation and oppression of the less privileged people leads to poverty, overcrowding, unemployment, environmental degradation that in turn, causes over population. Although the global rate of human population growth peaked around 1963, the number of people living on earth and sharing finite resources like water and food has grown by more than twothirds since then, topping out at over seven and a half billion today, and human population is expected to exceed nine billion by 2050. Others argue that, while the concept has some utility in indicating global unsustainability, it is. The overall aim of this study is to analyse the relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation with particular reference to carbon emissions and deforestation. In the case of neomalthusianism, population growth is the primary problem, and the solution is population programs.
Aug 31, 2018 the term overpopulation is used to describe a situation in which the world or area has a population so large that the people there are suffering as a result. Does the simultaneous occurrence of population growth and environmental decline over the past century indicate that more people translate into greater environmental degradation. The process of environmental degradation in india has also only accelerated with the growing effects of climate change. Citizen science as a valid approach to address climate change and contemporary environmental issues. Pimentel introduction a h e a l t h y and prudently managed environment is a major benefit to humans and other species. Poverty, still remains a problem at the root of several environmental problems. The growing population and the environmental deterioration.
A glimpse ofpopulation dynamics in nepal, population has been unprecedentedly growing. Population and the environment the impact of population growth on economic development is a complex issue. Accounting for outsourcing to chinas carbon footprint during the apportionment of liability for greenhous gas emissions. Jul 31, 2007 the world health organization who and other organizations report that the prevalence of human diseases during the past decade is rapidly increasing. The effect of population growth on the environment. Global population growth creates environmental problems. As indicated by the ipat equation, environmental impact i or degradation is caused by the combination of an already very large and increasing human population p, continually increasing economic growth or per capita affluence a, and the application of resourcedepleting and polluting technology t.
Different kinds of the human activities are the main reasons of. Pdf malawi has been ranked by the world bank as one of the poorest countries in africa. Impact of a growing population on natural resources. Ultimate causes include polluting technologies, affluencerelated wastes, environmental consequences of warfare, land and urban mismanagement policies, and so on. Rapid population growth and environmental degradation. Pdf population growth and environmental degradation. Malawi has been ranked by the world bank as one of the poorest countries in africa. Start the discussion today with the notion of sustainability. In the last hundred years the population has more than. The growing population and the environmental deterioration face the challenge of sustained. Aug 16, 2008 population growth and environmental degradation. Is overpopulation the root cause of environmental degradation. While the causes are complex, one significant contributor to the problem is population growth.
According to karl marx, population growth is a symptom rather than the cause of poverty, resource depletion, pollution and other social ills. The major causes of the environmental degradation are modern urbanization, industrialization, over population growth, deforestation etc. In other words, the population exceeds the region or planets carrying capacitythe number of people, other living organisms, or crops that can be supported without environmental degradation. If population is truly relevant to global environmental degradation, they say, then rich countries should be most concerned with promoting economic growth and. The result has been deforestation, overgrazing, overuse of land for subsistence, and increased population density. One of the major causes of environmental degradation in india could be attributed to rapid growth of population, which is adversely affecting the natural resources and environment. Water and air pollution are unfortunately the comm on causes of environmental degradation. Malawis only resources are its people and fertile soil, which comprises about 55% of land area. Rapid population growth and environmental degradation in. Higgitt encyclopedia of life support systems eolss 352 countries are, at the present time, overshooting the sustainable resource base.
Pdf the rapid increase of human population is putting an incredible strain on our. But as a whole, migration does not effect in the size of population change. Overpopulation and environmental degradation at the time of the agricultural revolution, nearly ten thousand years ago, the population of the globe was no more than ten million. In the environmental implications of population dynamics, lori hunter synthesizes current knowledge about the influence of population dynamics on the environment. The primary people in india affected by environmental degradation are the farmers because they rely on the land to provide them with the resources they need in order to survive. Sustainable development means a emphasizing the role of the market. In this paper we critically examine the concept of the environmental kuznets curve ekc. Each of the above theories identifies one or more ultimate causes for environmental degradation, which if remedied would solve the problem. Population growth and environmental degradation 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. Essays on environmental degradation and economic development. In contrast, proximate causes such as rapid population growth are shown to be more situationspecific, contemporary, and of a confounding nature. Chapter 1 effects of population growth and urbanization in. The argument was that population growth in some developing countries has been so rapid that environmental collapse is the result. The scholarly literature on this issue labels this view, which stresses the mixed and ambiguous impacts of population growth on economic change, revisionism.
Overall, eight of the twentytwo pacific countries are now predominantly urban. Most studies on this link have so far analyzed crosscountry data, finding contradictory results. Population growth and the pollution of water, air, and soil are contributing to the increasing number of human diseases worldwide. Moreover it has caused substantial conversion of forest land into land for industrial use or construction activity. Economic growth and environmental degradation in a global. Understanding the relationship between population growth and environmental issues may be the first step toward identifying real solutions. The pressure of population on land has increased at a high speed. Pollution introduces contaminants into the environment that can m aim o r even kill plant and animal species.
Environmental degradation has been cited as one of four root causes of refugee flows, together with political instability economic tensions and ethnic conflict unhcr 1993. A ofpopulation trends and causes glimpse ofpopulation. The role of environmental degradation in population displacement1. Overpopulation and environmental degradation term paper. One of the main causes of environmental degradation is population explosion or rapid growth of population. The environmental effects like ground water and surface water contamination. Of all of the environmental challenges facing the planet today overpopulation is one that sometimes slips under the radar. Environmental degradation and population growth conditions in malawi were used to illustrate the model of environmental degradation linked to population pressure on land resources and government. Its no secret that the planet faces serious environmental concerns from water and air pollution to deforestation. Nov 11, 2014 perhaps rural poverty contributes to environmental degradation on the very small proportion of the worlds forests, soils and water to which the poor have access so it is not a major contributor to global environmental degradation but a serious contributor to environmental degradation in particular places alder, graham 1995, tackling. The sustaining capacity of the globe is shrinking a little bit every year and soon, if the population trend continues at the current rate the sustaining capacity will have reached its peak. What are causes and effects of environmental degradation.
The major causes of the environmental degradation are modern urbanization, industrialization, overpopulation growth, deforestation etc. At its simplest, it describes how human impact on the environment i is a result of a multiplicative contribution of population p, affluence a and technology t. Overpopulation and environmental degradation the planet on which we live is dying, harsh. Environmental pollution refers to the degradation of quality and quantity of natural resources. Environmental degradation an overview sciencedirect topics.
Causes of environmental degradation the major causes of the environmental degradation are modern urbanization, industrialization, over population growth, deforestation etc. The challenge for environmental management david pimentel, x. Dec 05, 2017 is overpopulation the root cause of environmental degradation. I urbanization and environmental degradation in jordan david l. In particular, feedbacks, thresholds, and synergies generally amplify risk, causing degradation to grow disproportionally faster than growth in population size. Here we briefly outline the conclusions of this school of thought as expressed in an overview of the population. All life on earth obtains its food and other necessities from this environment. The ipat equation, first devised in the 1970s, is a way of determining environmental degradation based on a multiple of factors. Currently an estimated 40% of world deaths are due to environmental degradation. The analysis is based upon the environmental kuznets curve ekc model, which posits an invertedu relationship between incomes per capita and environmental quality.
Interaction between population and environmental degradation core. Urbanization and environmental degradation in jordan. Thus growth of population leads to pollution of air. The impact of population on environmental degradation in south asia. The aim of this paper is to examine impact of population growth on various facets of environment which is. It proposes that there is an inverted ushape relation between environmental degradation and income per capita, so that, eventually, growth reduces the environmental impact of economic activity.
1260 1154 331 182 364 362 498 577 1493 377 406 1053 287 68 1082 938 1079 1236 1094 552 1333 1047 203 394 853 352 1458 818 1457 1341 1256 724 1337 1235 840 766 638 89 1094 130 447 277 1346 622 1324