Post on 03-Apr-2018
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Unit 03 Environment and Human Population
03.1 Introduction
Objective
03.2 Man- Environment interaction
Human Population growth
Agricultural revolution
Industrial revolution
Self Assessment Questions
03.3 Consequences of over population
Business and Environment
Poverty and Environment
People and Environmental sustainability
Case Study
Self Assessment Questions
03.4 Summary
03.5 Glossary
03.6 Terminal Questions
03.7 Answers
03.1 Introduction
In the earlier unit we learnt about the economic and social significance of
ecosystems. We have also become familiar with concept of ecological
footprints and the impact of anthropogenic activities on them. Let us
study about the nexus between man and environment in this unit. We
will also discuss how the man-made action in creating a sustainable
environment has shaped up the present day environment.
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When man first appeared on earth planet, he had very little awarenessabout the role of the environment around him. Because of his limited
knowledge, he lived within the provisions of earth's natural surroundings.
This in effect did not disturb the equilibrium between man and
environment of the planet earth. As millenniums moved ahead, man on
earth grew curious of his surroundings and started exploring it.
Ultimately it leads to inventions and technological advancements that
had profound impact in shaping the environment.
Human beings reside within the environment and are dependent on the
environment for their survival. We can classify environment into natural
and artificial environment. Human beings have used both their mind and
technology to make use of their natural environment and transform it into
a more intensive artificial environment. The natural environment has its
own special balance. But, the intensive activities of the society have
destroyed this balance and have caused severe environmental
problems. Apart from these activities, deforestation, extinction of
biological resources, global population explosion and the growing
demand for food have caused many environmental problems for human
beings. . The unsustainable use of resources such as water and land by
human beings have caused the following problems:
Severe degradation of land
Increasing poverty and starvation
Increasing water demand
Declining water quality
Increasing energy demand.
In this unit, let us study in detail about the interactions involving man and
environment, impact of human growth and the development of a
sustainable environment.
Objective
After studying this unit, you will be able to:
figure out nexus between man and environment
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describe how exponential human growth has lead to resourcedepletion
explain how business operations interact with environment
discuss role of people in environmental sustainability
03.2 Man- Environment interaction
Humans are unique animals in the degree to which they can modify their
environment. They change the environment to suit their needs, through
clearing or planting vegetation, diverting or drilling for water, breeding
crops and livestock, constructing roads, buildings, railways, etc. As such
they have great positive and negative impacts on the environment.
People are dependent on the biotic and abiotic environment for provision
of all resources food, water, space, air, climatic conditions, etc. The
environment serves mankind with innumerable purposes. Some of the
ways by which we derive benefits from the environmental services are:
Deforestation to build houses, infrastructure
Oil energy
Water domestic, industry
Forests and Trees Source of food and CO2 sequestration
Minerals diamond, gold, coal
Farming
Fishing
Ecotourism
Water resources are indispensible for the survival of life and are an
integral part of economic development activities. Rivers, lakes, artificial
reservoirs are essential sources of water and depleting level of ground
water resources implies the need for their sustainable utilisation. We can
consider coal, oil and gas as fossil fuels as they resulted due to the
transformation of the organic remains of plants and animals that
inhabited the pre-historic age. The oil resource accounts for about 40 %
of the worlds energy and helps to meet 96 % of transportation energy
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requirement. Forests provide fuel wood which is used as the mainsource of fuel in most parts of our country. Also timbers obtained from
forests are used for construction purposes. It also provides shelter to
numerous species and helps to conserve biodiversity. Vegetation,
especially trees, has a great ecological impact on human beings and the
natural environment. As tree roots conserve water, they stabilise the soil
and prevent soil erosion. Minerals obtained from earths crust are
essential for industrial activities and it determines the rate of economic
development of any country. Fishing activities act as major source of
food for majority of population. Controlled exploitation of marine
resources could derive numerous benefits for the mankind. Tourism isanother recently developed environmental service that aids in economic
growth of a country and also plays a role in protecting the biodiversity of
particular areas.
Even though we benefit from the environment, it can create restrictions
on our activities by the occurrence of harsh weather conditions e.g.
precipitation, sun; natural hazards - storms, hurricanes; soil types.
Human Population growth
India's landscape is just 2.4% of the total world area whereas its
population is over 1.21 billion people (2011 census), which is greater
than one-sixth of the population of the world. India already accounts for
17.5% of the world's population. It is expected to become the world's
most populous country by 2025 even surpassing China. Indias
population is expected to reach 1.6 billion by 2050.
More than 50% of Indias population is below the age of 25 and more
than 65% is just below the age of 35. It is projected that, in 2020, the
average age of an Indian will be only 29 years, against 37 for China and
48 for Japan.
About 72.2 % of Indias population live in about 638,000 villages. The
remaining 27.8 % live in more than 5,100 towns and 380 extended cities
or town areas.
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The interactions of births, deaths, and migration determine the totalpopulation increase in a given period of time.A bar chart arranged
vertically and showing the distribution of a population by age and sex
can be used to represent the population pyramid. Usually, the younger
ages are shown at the bottom of the population pyramid, with females on
the right and males on the left.Similarly, we can define the Sex Ratio as
the number of males per 100 females in a population. In the previous
two centuries, most of the world's population could be found in Asia. A
relatively lesser percentage of the total world population lived in North
America, Latin America and Oceania. Europe had the second greatest
percentage of people after Asia. But, Europes population is decreasingwhile Africa's is increasing., The Industrial Revolution that began in
Europe in 1800 caused its share of global population to increase. Two-
thirds of the world's population lives in Asia. The U.S and Oceania
together only account for less than 5 percent of the total worlds
population.
By 1900, the rapid growth of population in Europe, Latin America, and
North America reduced Asia's share of the world population to 57
percent. Currently, the less developed regions have the highest rates of
population growth. Hence, their share of world population is expected toincrease in the future. The following figure 3.1 represents the projected
growth of population that may be considered in terms of low, medium or
high projections.
Figure 03.1 Total world population Projected
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Source: Registrar general of India
Asia's population increased again in 2000 to 60 percent of the world
total. But, if current trends persist, in 2050, the population of Asia will
show a slight decrease. In 2050, Asia may account for 57 percent of the
world population, but Africa's population may increase to about 20
percent. The following figure 3.2 represents the total population increase
over a period of time in different regions of the world.
Figure 03.2 Total estimated Population in the world
Source: www.wikipedia.com
In less developed countries, there is a disproportionate increase in urban
population due to rural-to-urban migration and the natural increase in
population. The urban areas accounted for only 10 percent of the world's
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population a century ago. The population of the urban areas hadincreased to 29 percent by 1950, and today it has risen to 49 percent. By
the year 2030, the population of the urban areas (ranging from market
towns to megacities) is expected to increase to 60 percent of the world's
population. More than 25 urban areas may have 10 million people by
2025 and eight urban areas may have more than 20 million people each.
The projections for 2025 indicate that only two of the 10 largest urban
areas will be in the more developed countries. The figure 03.3 shows the
differences in birth and death rate of population in India.
Figure03.3 Birth and Death rate in India
(Source: Registrar general of India)
Population pyramids are graphs that depict the age structure of a
population in terms of age and gender. Normally population pyramids
show the data for males on the left and for females on the right. The age
categories are in increasing intervals of five years and are labeled up the
center axis. The horizontal axis shows a measure of millions. The figure
03.4 depicts the population increase and the rate of population growth.
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Figure03.4 Growth rate of Population in India
Source: Registrar general of India
The population pyramid that represents the age composition of the
population existing in India and China is as given below. The projected
increase in population of India and China in 2050 is also represented by
the following figure 03.5.
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Figure 03.5 Population pyramid characteristics of India and China
(Source: US census Bureau)
There is a growing concern about the rapid population growth in the
country due to its widespread impacts. The following points describe the
effect of overpopulation on humans:
One of the most important effects is the occurrence of
environment degradation.
The excessive population resulted in rapid industrialization andurbanization.
Overexploitation of natural resources occurred due to industrial
activities and to meet the demands of growing population.
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During the Green Revolution, new high yielding varieties (HYVs) ofwheat, maize and rice were introduced. These HYV seeds responded
with higher yields when more fertilizer were applied and resulted in
significant raise in output. In the developing countries, although there
was only a 20 percent increase in the area planted with HYV seeds, the
yields of rice and wheat increased by 75 percent between 1965 and
1980. The production increased two-fold in India between 1960 and
1993. The total annual grain production increased from 77 Mt to 201.5
Mt during this period. In the same way, 4.5 million new hectares was
brought under irrigation throughout the world between 1950-51 and
1965-66. 9 million new hectares were brought under irrigation between1965-66 and 1979-80.
In India, tube wells and canals were the two sources of irrigated
agricultural water. Tube wells draw water from underground aquifers
using electrical pumps. Dammed reservoirs supply water to canals.
Many tube wells, dams, and canals were constructed due to the Green
Revolution. In India, tube wells and canals supplied water to about 20
percent of the total irrigated land by late 1980s. In India, more than 33
percent of the agricultural land was irrigated by 1989. In 1950s the total
irrigated area was 21 million hectares. But this increased to 39 millionhectares by 1980. The construction of dams by the government and the
drilling of tube wells by farmers helped to extend the irrigated area.
In India, the use of pesticides has increased greatly due to the greater
production of cash-crops. About 2000 t of pesticides were annually used
in the mid-1950s and more than 80000 t were used by the mid-1980s.
Chemical pesticides were used on only 80,000 ha of Indias cropland in
1960. But today, they are used in 6 million hectares. The Green
Revolutions commercial approach to agriculture was intensified when
farmers invested in new farming machinery like tractors, mechanical
threshers and electric pumps using the profits earned. . The introduction
of such equipment created new needs for electricity, fuels, and
maintenance. So, the marketing systems were modified to help
subsistence farmers to sell their crops. This resulted in a transition from
subsistence to commercial agriculture. The growth in production of rice
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and wheat due to the green revolution project carried out in India is asshown below in figure 03.6.
Figure 03.6 Impact of green revolution in Indian agriculture
production
Some advantageous effects of green revolution upon the environment
can be summarised as follows:
The Green Revolution resulted in a four-time increase in the
production of rice and wheat and transformed Indias fertile areas
into granaries.
India no longer depended on other countries for food grains. It
helped the nation to progress towards the path of self-sufficiency.
Increase in Production / yield than conventional methods.
The economic situation of small and marginal farmers improved
due to better yield, control on insects and pests and the use of
sophisticated machineries.
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Better land use by employing two and three crop pattern.
Advent of new seeds with better yield and disease fighting
capability.
Though it offered innumerable benefits, green revolution had a profound
effect on the environment as a whole. They can be summarised as
follows:
The Green Revolution resulted in a reduction in the natural
fertility of the soil.
The processes of Green Revolution led to depletion and pollutionof water.
The residues of the biocides in food crops and their
contamination of drinking water pose a health hazard to both the
farmers who use them and the general public.
Tolerance limits of pesticide residues in food were established by
the World Health Organization (WHO). A research of food,
including cereals, eggs and vegetables, in India, revealed that
30% of the sample exceeded the tolerance limits.
All the 75 samples of breast milk collected from women in Punjab
showed residues of DDT and BHC. But, it not been established
that these suspected carcinogens are directly related to an
increase in diseases or deaths.
A loss of genetic diversity has resulted due to the spread of
modern commercial agriculture and introduction of new varieties
of crops. Considering the benefits derived by green revolution
project, the disadvantages offered by them is quite naturally over-
looked.
Industrial revolution
The Industrial Revolution happened between 1760 and 1850. During this
revolution, fundamental changes gradually occurred in agriculture,
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transportation, textile and metal manufacture, the social structure andeconomic policies.
A greater supply of food and raw materials resulted due to the
advancements in agricultural techniques and practices. The introduction
of new technology increased the efficiency, production and profits. The
growth of commerce and foreign and domestic trade were the factors
that resulted in the growth of the Industrial Revolution. As most of these
conditions were closely interrelated, the increased activity in one
contributed to an increase in the activity of another. The following table
03.1 depicts the projected economic growth of top 10 major economies
in the world. India is projected to increase its economic growth in the
future, thereby attaining the third rank among the world countries by the
year 2020.
Table 03.1 Projected economic growth among world countries
Before the era of mechanisation, the organisation of the textile industry
was complex and highly inefficient. There were many local variations.The invention of modern technologies caused many changes in the
textile industry.
Rivers and canals had been used as a means of internal transportation
for a long time. Raw materials, finished products, food and people
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required a faster, reliable, and less expensive mode of transportation.The modern transport mechanism was greatly beneficial to the industrial
development. The advancements in transportation acted as a catalyst to
the Industrial Revolution as they greatly determined the cost and
availability of manufactured products.
The Industrial Revolution greatly influenced man-environment
relationship and Earths ecology. The Industrial Revolution drastically
changed all facets of human lifestyle. Some of the major points are as
summarised below:
Industrial revolution lead to the mass production of food for the worldpopulation.
The worldwide human population growth serves as the best
evidence of the effect of the Industrial Revolution on the modern
world.
The use of factories and mass production has led to a depletion of
certain natural resources
The pollution that has resulted from factories involves not only
airborne emissions but land and water pollution as well.
Industries contribute largely to an increase in carbon emissions in
the atmosphere thereby leading to global warming.
Self Assessment Questions
1. According to census 2011, India ranks as the world's .
most populous country.
(a) first (b) second (c) third (d) fourth
2. .. are graphs that show the structure of a population by
age and gender.3. The Green Revolution at first started in the late
(a) 1950 (b) 1960 (c) 1980 (d) 1990
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_past_and_future_population#Country_and_territory_breakdown_by_future_population.2C_from_2020_to_2050http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_past_and_future_population#Country_and_territory_breakdown_by_future_population.2C_from_2020_to_2050http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_past_and_future_population#Country_and_territory_breakdown_by_future_population.2C_from_2020_to_2050http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_past_and_future_population#Country_and_territory_breakdown_by_future_population.2C_from_2020_to_20507/28/2019 EM Unit 03 Environment and Human Population
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03.2 Consequences of over population
Overpopulation is regarded as a major hindrance factor in economic
development of any country. Uncontrolled increase in population leads to
many ill-effects. Numerous negative effects are known to occur due to
an increased load of population and hence they can be summarised
mainly into categories based on their impacts of social and ecological
conditions.
Social Impacts of Population Growth
The population explosion has resulted in many serious problems. These
problems include food-scarcity, over-crowding, poverty, increased
consumption, encroachment on monuments, stress on common social
facilities and civic services. Let us now discuss more about these
problems.
Food Scarcity: The population explosion has resulted in severe
economic disparities, competition for resources, inflation, malnutrition,
hunger and mass starvation. The population growth has widened the
gap between the poor and the rich. A common effect of these problems
is malnutrition. In developing countries, the poorest people do not get
sufficient calories that will ensure good health. Almost half of the childrenbelow the age of five are affected by malnutrition in Ethiopia. Malnutrition
causes failure of senses, damages vital organs and results in mental
disorders. It is estimated that about 5 to 20 million people die due to
starvation yearly worldwide.
Overcrowding:There is only a limited place available for habitation on
Earth. The population explosion has resulted in greater demand for land
and has adversely impacted agricultural areas and forests. This has
resulted in the migration of people to cities in search of job opportunities.
This has made cities overcrowded. Agricultural lands and semi-urban
lands located near cities are being used for construction activities. The
overcrowding in cities has further aggravated the problems of pollution
and insanitation which have resulted in epidemics. Green lands in urban
areas and sea beaches are being reclaimed for housing and industrial
activities.
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Poverty:The main causes of poverty are population explosion, unequaldistribution of resources, increasing cost of living, insufficient education
and employment, environmental degradation, demographic trends and
reduced welfare incentives. We can define the extreme form of poverty
as the lack of basic human needs like food, clothing, housing, clean
drinking water, and medical facilities. People in Africa, Asia, and Latin
America suffer the most due to lack of financial resources. The people of
these countries frequently suffer from famine, malnutrition, epidemics,
outbreaks of diseases and war. Poverty has resulted in increase in drug
addiction, crime and mental illness in developed countries.
Increasing Consumption:Although the population in some countries of
the world has nearly stabilised, the life style of the people in these
countries has become consumption based. Ecologists around the world
have observed that there is greater resource consumption by powerful
people and developed countries when compared to weak and poor
people, and developing or under-developed nations. For example,
although the United States is not overpopulated, it accounts for about 40
percent of the resource consumption of the world and is responsible for
the production of about 20 percent of carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas)
of the world. The United Nations states that although only 20 percent ofthe population of the world live in developed and richest countries, they
consume about 86 percent of the resources of the world.
Ecological Impactsof Population Growth
Population growth has impacted both the physical and biological
components of our environment.
Impacts of Population Growth on the Physical Environment
The utilisation, overuse and misuse of physical resources like land, air,
and water increased greatly due to population growth. Population growth
has necessitated greater agricultural production which requires more
cultivable land and the use of advanced agricultural methods. Clearing of
forests and reclamation of wet lands, ponds and green belts have made
more cultivable land available. Advanced agricultural methods require
more water, fertilizers and pesticides. The use of pesticides and
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fertilizers has made the soil infertile. Clearing of forests, also hasseriously impacted the environment which has become imbalanced.
Population growth requires more means of transport. It has resulted in
greater consumption of fossil fuels and has caused more air, land and
water pollution. Different types of pollutions cause many problems in the
physical environment and also seriously affect the biological
environment.
Impacts of population growth on biological environment
Population growth has adversely impacted the biological environment
as it greatly stresses almost all the biological systems, including flora,
fauna and biological diversity.
Clearing of forests has been done for setting up industries and making
new towns and cities. This has destroyed the habitats of many birds and
animals. Large-scale destruction of habitats has also resulted due to the
intensive agriculture practices (like shifting cultivation) and mining.
People and animals are migrating to other places due to the frequent
water crises and this stresses the resources of those areas. The
increasing consumer culture and population explosion have increased
the generation of waste. This has resulted in the outbreak of serious
epidemics and deaths of people in most parts of the world.
Business and Environment
Population growth imposes more resource demands on ecosystems and
enhances the impacts of our global footprint. Natural resources are
vulnerable and finite. The environmental effects ofanthropogenic actions
(processes or materials derived from human activities) are becomingmore evident. The air and water quality is decreasing greatly, overfishing
is taking place in oceans, pests and diseases can be found even beyond
their historical boundaries, and deforestation is increasing flooding
downstream. A study has revealed that since the beginning of
industrialisation, anthropogenic activities have greatly transformed or
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degraded about 40-50 percent of Earths ice-free land surface,overexploited 66 percent of marine fisheries and increased atmospheric
CO2 by more than 30 percent. It is also reported that, in the last two
thousand years, approximately 25 percent of Earths bird species have
become extinct.
There is greater awareness in the society that human activities are
limiting and threatening the ecosystem services. To provide information
to decision-makers, economic values, frequently based on the cost of
replacement with anthropogenic alternatives, are being assigned to
many ecosystem services. The current challenge of assigning economic
value to nature, for example through biodiversity banking, is causing
transdisciplinary shifts in how we perceive and manage the environment,
business opportunities, social responsibility, and the future of our
species.
Many businesses voluntarily try to reduce their environmental impact.
The law requires industries that utilise or generate hazardous waste to
regulate their businesses. A business can derive significant benefits by
decreasing their environmental impact.
Any organisation that takes part in green or environmentally friendly
activities to make sure that all its products, processes and manufacturing
activities address on-going environmental concerns adequately and at
the same time be profitable is a sustainable business. We can also
define sustainable business as a factor that meets the needs of the
present world without compromising the ability of the future generations
to meet their own needs. Sustainability is the process of examining the
methods of designing products that take advantage of the present
environmental condition and the performance of a companys products
that use renewable resources.
Sustainable businesses also analyse inputs and identify the productsthat cause harm to the environment and attempt to identify green
alternatives that can function at the same or a better level and,
preferably, at a lower cost. Company leaders also consider the life cycle
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costs for inputs of items purchased. They consider the inputs costs interms of energy use, regulations, storage, and disposal.
The economic initiatives of a business can include transforming
materials through remanufacturing, changing harmful gases into clean
energy, generating greener power, and using fuel economically. Another
element of a sustainable business is Designing for the Environment
(DFE). Through this process users can analyse the possible
environmental impacts of a product and the processes employed in
manufacturing that product. A common example of a sustainable
business initiative is the process of going paperless. Sustainable
business practices, on a higher level, can include reviewing processes in
the elimination or recycling of waste, ensuring the recyclability of all
products, and using alternatives energies in order to eliminate the use of
non-renewable resources.
Poverty and Environment
An intricate relationship between the poverty and environment is
regarded as a cyclic process with each of them capable of influencing
the other. Similarly, an exact definition of poverty is difficult to be made.
Poverty is defined in terms of needs. It is generally perceived as an
economic or social condition and has significant influences on policy.
We generally use income or consumption measures to map poverty. We
can consider a person to be poor if the personal income or consumption
of the person is below the established poverty line. But, it is proper to
consider personal income only for the salaried class as it is not
applicable to the poor. Most of the poor people depend on self-
production and informal-sector activities wherein the concept of profit is
not clear.
Consumption of goods and services was considered a better poverty
indicator in the 1960s as it is more stable over time when compared to
income. The concept of capabilities was introduced by the noted Nobel
laureate, Amartya Sen, to replace the basic needs concept. This concept
considers material well-being, opportunities and capabilities (what
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people can or cannot do). According to UNDP, we can define poverty asthe deprivation in the most essential capabilities of life, including leading
a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable, having adequate economic
provisioning and participating fully in the life of the community.1Although the implications of poverty are many, we can consider it to be
one of the main reasons for environmental destruction. It can be
regarded that poor people cannot practise sustainable development in
their present state of existence. We can save the environment only by
eliminating poverty through economic growth. Socioeconomic,
institutional and cultural factors mediate the relationship between poverty
and environment.
We can use the concept of environmental entitlements to understand the
relationships between environment and poverty. According to this
approach the links between environmental change and impoverishment
are indirect. These links are mediated by the interaction of the poor
people with specific environments that are structured by macro-level
processes. The two main attributes of environmental entitlements are
access to resources and control over the resources use.
We can define environmental entitlements in terms of:
Government legislation
Markets
Common property resource-management arrangements
Land tenure
Customary rights
Resources like capital and technology that can be used effectively
Gender roles.
1
http://www.unep.org/training/programmes/Instructor%20Version/Part_2/Activities/D
imensions_of_Human_Well-
Being/Poverty/Core/Some_Basic_Poverty_Definitions.pdf
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It is widely accepted that poor people living in the rural areas ofdeveloping countries are dependent on natural resources for their
livelihoods. We can reduce poverty by improving the poor peoples
access to and control of environmental resources.
People and Environmental sustainability
It is expected in the near future that the fossil fuel from oil fields will be
exhausted. It may not be possible to meet the food demands using the
existing agro systems. There will be overgrazing of pastures by domestic
animals and many problems will be created due to the soil, water and air
pollution resulting from industrial growth. There may not be sufficient
fishes for fishing in the sea. The discharge of industrial chemicals into
the atmosphere will create bigger ozone holes that will adversely affect
human health. The industrial gases released will increase global
warming. Due to this, there will be a rise in the sea levels which will flood
all low-lying areas, submerge coastal agricultural fields, towns and cities.
The depletion of fresh water will result in water famines which will
create unrest among the world countries. The regional biological
diversity is important in the production of new industrial and medicinalproducts. Hence, many biotechnologically advanced nations and the
biorich countries will want to control them. This could lead to grave
economic conflicts. Ecosystem degradation can result in thousands of
species becoming extinct. This will destabilise the valuable natural
ecosystems. Many other environmental problems can also be caused in
the future due to the increasing human population and intensive use of
resources. We can avert these problems by building awareness among
the people about the environment. This will help to bring about a change
in the peoples lifestyle.
Human beings depend on the physical environment (both natural and
man-made) in many ways. Hence, sustaining the desired environmental
conditions directly influences social sustainability. The economic viability
is greatly dependent on environmental resources and service flows.
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Therefore, economic sustainability is dependent on environmentalsustainability.
Some issues that can lead to destabilisation of environmental
sustainability are:
Habitat destruction of native species
Environmental pollution due to the discharge of chemicals and
other materials
Climate changes due to greenhouses gas emissions
Fossil fuel depletion
The basic prerequisites for achieving sustainable development are
reduction of poverty and enhanced human development. A disturbing
trend that can be seen within and across countries is the growing
inequity. If this is not addressed soon, it will result in greater social
conflict and increase the rate of deterioration of the ecosystem. We must
use innovative measures to address these issues. It is essential to
move away from traditional responses that rely on the benefits of
economic growth trickling down to the people below the poverty line. We
must adopt policy responses that necessitate broader participation,provide greater opportunities and empower the poor to begin their own
development process.
Activity 1:
Suggest some measures to promote sustainable management of
resources thereby protecting the environment from deterioration. How
will you address the ever growing demand for fossil fuels among the
society through other alternative measures?
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Case Study
Case study 1: The world's worst recorded food disaster, the Bengal
Famine, occurred in 1943 in British-ruled India. In Eastern India alone
(that included the present day Bangladesh) an estimated four millionpeopledied of hunger in 1943. An initial theory proposed that the acuteshortfall in food production in the area was responsible for the
catastrophe. But, the noted Indian economist Amartya Sen (recipient of
the Nobel Prize for Economics, 1998) disagreed with this theory. He
established that although food shortage contributed to the problem, due
to the hysteria of World War II, the British rulers only gave a low priority
to food supplies. The Indian traders further exploited the hysteria and
hoarded food so that they could sell it at higher rates.
However even after the British left India in 1947, India continued to face
the repercussions of the Bengal Famine. Hence, food security became
an important item on free Indias agenda. The Green Revolution resulted
due to this awareness. Legislative measures were also introduced to
prevent the hoarding of food for profit by businessmen.
But, even today we apply the term Green Revolution to the period from
1967 to 1978. The efforts taken to achieve food self-sufficiency between
1947 and 1967 were not completely successful. More priority was given
to expanding the farming areas until 1967. But newspapers continued to
report starvation deaths. In a perfect illustration of Malthusian
economics, the population grew at a more rapid rate than food
production. Hence there was a drastic need to increase yield which was
enabled by the Green Revolution.
Source:http://teacherweb.ftl.pinecrest.edu/snyderd/APHG/Unit%205/GreenRev.
htm
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Case Study 2: Female infanticide is the practice of killing of baby girlson purpose as the birth of females is not preferred. This practice is
prevalent in rural India.
Even though the government has tried to abolish this practice for many
years, the gender imbalance of India has become worse recently. The
number of girls per 1,000 boys aged 0-6 declined from 945 to 927,
throughout the nation, between 1991 and 2001. This ratio has reduced
to lesser than 800 girls per 1,000 boys in some parts of India. A
government minister stated that in the past 20 years, ten million girls
have been killed by their parents in India, either before their birth or
immediately after their birth. For example, every fourth girl child given
birth in Punjab is regarded to be killed. By 2011 census, about 10 lakh
(1,000,000) girl child would be killed in a year. (Stop Murdering The Girl
Child, Tribune, Correspondent or Reporter, Sep 26, 2007)
Self Assessment Questions
4. Overpopulation leads to natural resource depletion. (True/False)
5. Dr. Amartya sen introduced the term of .............. to define
poverty.
6. Poverty and environmental degradation are interrelated to each
other. (True/False)
7. Sustainable development can mitigate the problem of poverty.
(True/False)
03.4 Summary
Let us recapitulate some important concepts that we have discussed in
this unit:
We can classify environment into natural and artificial
environment.
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India accounts for 17.5% of the world's population. It is estimatedthat, by 2025, India will become the world's most populous
country.
The total population increase that results from the interaction of
births, migrations and deaths in a given period of time is termed
population increase.
The graphs that depict the age structure of a population in terms
of age and gender are referred to as population pyramids.
India achieved food self-sufficiency due to agricultural revolution
by the end of the 1970s.
1760 is generally considered the eve of the Industrial
Revolution.
India is projected to increase its economic growth in the future,
thereby attaining the third rank among the world countries by the
year 2020.
An intricate relationship between the poverty and environment is
regarded as a cyclic process with each of them capable of
influencing the other.
The basic prerequisites for achieving sustainable development
are reduction of poverty and encouraging human development.
03.5 Glossary
Population Pyramid: A bar chart, arranged vertically, that shows the
distribution of a population by age and sex. By convention, the younger
ages are at the bottom, with males on the left and females on the right.
Doubling Time: The number of years that it takes for the population of
an area to increase two-fold at the present population growth rate.
03.6 Terminal Questions
1. Give a detailed note on population growth in India.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_past_and_future_population#Country_and_territory_breakdown_by_future_population.2C_from_2020_to_2050http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_past_and_future_population#Country_and_territory_breakdown_by_future_population.2C_from_2020_to_2050http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_past_and_future_population#Country_and_territory_breakdown_by_future_population.2C_from_2020_to_2050http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_past_and_future_population#Country_and_territory_breakdown_by_future_population.2C_from_2020_to_20507/28/2019 EM Unit 03 Environment and Human Population
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2. What are the consequences of overpopulation?
3. Explain the nexus between poverty and environment
4. Write a brief note on Green revolution and its consequences in
India.
03.7 Answers
SAQ
1. (b) second
2. Population pyramid
3. (b) 1960
4. True
5. Capability
6. True
7. True
Terminal Questions
1. Write on the census 2011 report, demography, population
pyramids.
2. Write about social and ecological impacts. Refer section 13.3
3. Refer section 13.3
4. Refer section 13.2
References
1. Erdogan and Ozsoy, 2007, Population growth, Journal of Turkish
science education, Vol. 4, (2), 22.
2. Govindan Parayil, 1992, The Green Revolution in India: A Case
Study of Technological Change, Technology and Culture, 33 (4),
pp. 738-739.
3. FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), 1995, World
Agriculture: Towards 2010, Rome: FAO.
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E-Reference
1. www.censusindia.net
2. www.wikipedia.org
3. www.encyclopaediabritannica.org
4. http://www.unep.org/training/programmes/Instructor%20Version/
Part_2/Activities/Dimensions_of_Human_Well-
Being/Poverty/Core/Some_Basic_Poverty_Definitions.pdf
http://www.censusindia.net/http://www.wikipedia.org/http://www.wikipedia.org/http://www.encyclopaediabritannica.org/http://www.encyclopaediabritannica.org/http://www.encyclopaediabritannica.org/http://www.wikipedia.org/http://www.censusindia.net/