em unit 03 environment and human population

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Fundamentals of Environment Unit 03

Page No. 275

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


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.
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/People%27s_Republic_of_Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Chinahttp://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_2050


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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.


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
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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)


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_2050


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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/

em unit 03 environment and human population

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