According to united nations estimates, the urban population in asia will nearly double in the next 30 years. The lengthy digital atlas almost 500 pages with many figures gives an excellent and up to date overview of practically all the issues associated with the concept of overpopulation. Understanding the factors which affect population growth patterns can help us plan for the future undp, 2005. Scientists suggest that there is over population when organisms humans in this case become so numerous that they degrade the ability of the environment to support their kind of animal in the future. Overpopulation has many additional social impacts as well. Overpopulation and the impact on the environment cuny. Various diseases hiv aids, tb, malaria, water borne diseases. The impact of overconsumption and overpopulation on our planet. Overpopulation is becoming a leading environmental problem in which resources are becoming depleted faster than are being created. Family planning and integrated population, health, and environment phe approaches.
Human overpopulation the main goal of the scheme was g enerating more employment opportunities for people living in rural areas, advancing rural infrastr ucture and quality of. Portney expects localities and international organizations to play a larger role. While a lot of positive steps are being taken to better ensure the sustainability of humans on our planet, the problem of having too many people has. The state of health of people depends on clean environment. Overpopulation affects the environment by putting pressure on resources such as water, food and energy. Causes, effects and possible solutions for overpopulation. Start the discussion today with the notion of sustainability. United nations population fund world population history our world in data info laso, conserve energy future bbc sociology, discussion, population matters fertilab. Many scientists warn that growing human numbers and consumption are undermining the carrying capacity of the earth. Pollution, soil degradation, deforestation and loss of biodiversity are further effects of overpopulation on the environment.
This paper proposes a symposium on overpopulation, sustainable development, and security. Indeed, human overpopulation has resulted in technological advances which have increased human lifespan and fertility, and consequently placed pressure on global resources. American public and political leaders about the detrimental effects of overpopulation on our environment, resources and quality of life. The ipat equation, first devised in the 1970s, is a way of determining environmental degradation based on a multiple of factors. Wilderness, quiet, privacy and the need for occasional solitude are important to individuals in a civilized society. Nagdeve abstract the present paper examined the relationship of population to the environment and with growing population, poverty and urbanization the environment is degrading. Overpopulation, situation in which the number of individuals of a given species exceeds the number that its environment can sustain. This is a video about the causes, effects and possible solutions for overpopulation. Pimentel introduction a h e a l t h y and prudently managed environment is a major benefit to humans and other species.
Overpopulation is one of the biggest challenges humanity is facing and threatens the near future of the planet in economic, environmental and social terms. While overpopulation has greatly altered indias environment, indias forests in particular have been drastically affected. The number of people earth can support in the long term without degrading the environment given existing socioeconomic. Hoevel explains, overpopulation occurs when a populations density exceeds the capacity of the environment to supply the health requirements of an individual hoevel 1. What are the biggest issues that arise from overpopulation, and why are they so bad. Here at the overpopulation project, we try to keep a positive outlook. Environmental degradation can be seen in local and global effects. Echoing malthus, paul ehrlich predicted that without limiting growth, overpopulation would. Half of the global population already lives in cities, and by 2050 twothirds of the worlds people are expected to. Table 2 summarizes evolution of environmental concern, associated with population explosion. Pdf the rapid increase of human population is putting an incredible strain on our environment. Population, natural resources, and environment 115 unplanned urbanization primarily as a result of ruraltourban migration, asia is the fastest urbanizing region in the world. Overpopulation and the impact on the environment by. The effects of overpopulation on the environment essay.
Human overpopulation the main goal of the scheme was g enerating more employment opportunities for people living in rural areas, advancing rural infrastr ucture and quality of life planning. Overpopulation is the problem bioscience oxford academic. Revisiting the environmental and socioeconomic effects of. To start off with, countries should raise awareness on the seriousness of the issue. Census bureau projects that the global population will increase to 8 billion by 2025, and as the population increases, the demand for natural resources will increase as well. If the human population continues to grow unchecked, the effects of overpopulation on the environment will leave us with a planet no longer be able to sustain us. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to raise awareness of the impact of overpopulation on the environment.
Overpopulation solutions every problem must have a solution, and there are some suggested solutions to overpopulation. Degradation of the environment caused by human overpopulation with the reliance and growing use of fossil fuels, it has started producing some serious environmental impact. The primary cause of this problems includes low mortality rates coupled with high birth rates. The issue is compounded by the difficulty in providing solutions for this problem and misunderstanding of the causes and effects of overpopulation. Human overpopulation is among the most pressing environmental issues, silently aggravating the forces behind global warming, environmental pollution, habitat loss, the sixth mass extinction, intensive farming practices and the consumption of finite natural resources, such as fresh water, arable land and fossil fuels, at speeds faster than their rate of regeneration. This article originally published on 11618 and was updated on 52119 to include solutions to reversing the effects of overpopulation. The challenge for environmental management david pimentel, x. Overpopulation refers to a population which exceeds its sustainable size within a particular environment or habitat. The current rate of population growth is now a significant burden to human wellbeing. Population and the environment the impact of population growth on economic development is a complex issue. Overpopulation will place great demands on resources and land, leading to widespread environmental issues in addition to impacting global economies and standards of living. Overpopulation and our environment there are many people advocating that overpopulation is detrimental to the environment and other species. All life on earth obtains its food and other necessities from this environment. Overpopulation, sustainable development, and security.
Human health and environment the huge population pressurizes and degrades the environment physically, chemically and biologically. This research paper outlines the causes and effects of human overpopulation, focusing in developing countries. Many people are already aware of the social and environmental problems due to overpopulation, but only a few are aware of its adverse effects on health. Urbanization causes and impacts national geographic. They claim there exist environmental degradation of ecosystems, ecological life, and depletion of natural resources like water, trees, air, oxygen, and fossil fuels, etc. It is paramount for humans to understand that our planet is a bounded system and no help from outside will come to assist the scarcity in natural resources that humans are soon to experience. 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. Most indian cities are badly polluted and have little fresh air. The impacts of continued population growth are already felt by a majority of nations. Although many environmental trends are grim, there exist clear paths forward toward a more sustainable world.
Overpopulation faqs frequently asked questions from overpopulation. As in any contested fieldand population environment studies certainly fit this descriptiona wide array of theories have emerged to describe the relationship among the variables of interest, and each of these theories leads to starkly different conclusions and policy recommendations. Overpopulation faqs frequently asked questions from 1. Meeting peoples needs for family planning and reproductive health builds resilience to climate change impacts. The growing size of the global population is not an issue that appeared within the past couple of decades, but its origins come from the prehistoric time and extend to the very present day. The impact to the economy and environment of overpopulation is seemingly ostensible as. Overpopulation definition, effects, causes and solutions.
The effects of overpopulation on the environment the world population reached 6 billion, on october 12, 1999. These issues are usually treated separately by politicians and the public, but addressing them intelligently requires seeing the interconnections. The changes in human environment increases the incidence of many diseases. Evidence about environmental degradation the evidence is wellsummarized by article by fprestong. In this research paper, the main focus is on the issue of overpopulation and its impact on the environment.
Much of the 50year debate over population limitation arises in part from weaknesses in the available data sets, but largely stems from the desire of ecologists to attribute limitation to a single mechanism e. Aerosol pollution, air pollution, deforestation, global warming, land degradation, ocean acidification and ozone layer depletion to name a few. As might be imagined population growth has positive and negative effects on development. Population growth is also one of the drivers of the growth in greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Although some regions are more populated than others, overpopulation has repercussions for the environment and everyone who shares it. These are all things we lose as the population expands and takes up more habitat. Population growth and environmental degradation in india by dr. Solutions to overpopulation and what you can do the. It presented a reasonable program to discover how bad things are, which is, i suppose, frequently necessary to have fresh ammunition to use in trying to wake up our national leadership. Overpopulation can have several effects on the environment, as well as other species within an ecological system.
Npg advocates a smaller and truly sustainable united states population accomplished through voluntary incentives for smaller families and reduced immigration levels. Overpopulation and the impact on the environment by doris baus a masters thesis submitted to the graduate faculty in liberal studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts, the city university of new york 2017. Effects of overpopulation onthe environment schooled by. Belovsky, anthony joern, in population dynamics, 1995. The promise of jobs and prosperity, among other factors, pulls people to cities. The population must be aware of the social and environmental implications of overpopulation in order for any suggested solutions to be effective. Food shortages and associated malnutrition, susceptibility to disease, stunted growth and stunted brain power, starvation b. I greatly enjoyed reading the millennium assessment, by fred powledge bioscience 56. Conducted an analysis of changes and trends over last fifty years. The overpopulation project studies the environmental impacts of overpopulation in an effort to remind environmentalists, scientists and policy makers of the contributions ending population growth can make in dealing successfully with global environmental problems. Overpopulation is associated with negative environmental and economic outcomes ranging from the impacts of overfarming, deforestation, and water pollution to eutrophication and global warming. Overpopulation results from an increased birth rate, decreased death rate, the immigration to a new ecological niche with fewer predators, or the sudden decline in available resources. Overpopulation exacerbates many social and environmental factors, including overcrowded living conditions, pollution, malnutrition and inadequate or nonexistent health care, which wreak havoc on the poor and increase their likelihood of being exposed to infections diseases.