Population growth, ecosystem services and human wellbeing. Growth of human population and its effect on the environment. Various diseases hiv aids, tb, malaria, water borne diseases. This article originally published on 11618 and was updated on 52119 to include solutions to reversing the effects of overpopulation. In order to diminish negative impacts on the worlds resources by increasing human population growth, many strategies for sustainability, improvements, and technological advances should be researched, studied, considered, and implemented.
In the end, population growth plays a key role in environmental sustainability. It can lead to the deforestation, water pollution, and air pollution. These have a negative effect on the environment and also impact human daily lives. Dr felix eigenbrod, lecturer in ecology and ecosystem services at the university of southampton, led the study while at the university of sheffield. Since populations can grow exponentially, resource depletion can occur rapidly, leading to specific environmental concerns such as global warming, deforestation and decreasing biodiversity. Effects of population growth on environment essay 2373 words. The changes in human environment increases the incidence of many diseases. How is the environment affected by the growth of human population. In this chapter, learn more about the ins and outs of this impact.
An island once lush with diverse plant and animal species and fertile volcanic soil became nearly uninhabitable 1,300. The effects of population growth are varied and vast. Human population growth and the environment an overview human population growth and the environment human population an explosive growth human needs limited resources our natural environment under attack roles of technology and engineering an uncertain future humans are recent arrivals earth 5 billion years multicell biota 600 million years. How does human population growth affect the environment. The population of india increased by three times during the period of 19512001. To what extent does human population growth impact global warming, and what can be done. The recent resident evil the final chapter movie has the answer for thissort of. Overpopulation can further be viewed, in a long term perspective, as existing when a population cannot be maintained given the rapid depletion of nonrenewable resources or given the degradation of the capacity of the environment to give support to the population.
Human population and the environment 215 3 to 4 billion, in 14 years. Some scientists fear that global warming will lead to rising sea levels and extreme weather. Its effects are felt on the natural environment also. Human impacts on the environment national geographic society. As might be imagined population growth has positive and negative effects on development.
Population growth affect ecosystem services university. The ipat equation, first devised in the 1970s, is a way of determining environmental degradation based on a multiple of factors. Human health and environment the huge population pressurizes and degrades the environment physically, chemically and biologically. Variation in population growth is therefore not rooted in different levels of human development or broad cultural values, factors that could also affect the environment. Population and the environment the impact of population growth on economic development is a complex issue. The sole social science journal focused on interdisciplinary research on social demographic aspects of environmental issues. Global population growth creates environmental problems. New technologies may lead to better management and distribution of resources. Environmental effects of human population growth emerge from interactions between national economic development and. It could reach 8 billion by 2025, 9 billion by 2040, and a whopping 11 billion by 2100. As population growth accelerates, human demand for space and resources increases. It can be a tough subject to pinpoint exactly, but one of the ways we can begin to do that is through investigating one of the ways that human population growth affects the planet most visibly.
Between 1980 and 2005, 63% of the worlds population growth took place in countries with very low emissions. Population growth, ecosystem services and human wellbeing by lynne gaffikin. Human population growth and its effect environmental. A new environment over the past few years there has been a tremendous increase in the human population, which is having a constant effect on our environment. All life on earth obtains its food and other necessities from this environment. The term human overpopulation also refers to the relationship between the entire. Population growth and its impacts on nature and natural resources.
The total population size of india had grown from 361 million in 1951 to around 1027 million in 2001. World population growth and environmental degradation. Rising populations put increasing demands on natural resources such as. How population growth impacts the environment wecyclers. Chapter 1 effects of population growth and urbanization in. Nature and natural resources are destroyed as human populations grow.
Thats more than seven billion three hundred million bodies that need to be fed, clothed, kept warm and ideally, nurtured and educated. Although the global rate of human population growth peaked around 1963, the number of people living on earth and sharing finite resources like water and food has grown by more than twothirds since then, topping out at over seven and a half billion today, and human population is expected to exceed nine billion by 2050. Pdf rapid population growth effects on environment. The concept of population growth is tricky because populations can grow exponentially similar to the way a bank or credit card company compounds interest. But so do modern institutions such as competitive markets, flexible public policies and wellrun government programs, which help economies adjust to the rapid changes produced by population growth. Pimentel introduction a h e a l t h y and prudently managed environment is a major benefit to humans and other species. A number of theoriesoften subscribed to by demographersstate that population is one of a number of variables that affect the environment and that rapid population growth simply exacerbates other conditions such as bad governance, civil conflict, wars, polluting technologies, or distortionary policies. Impact of population growth complacency concerning this component of mans predicament is unjustified and counterproductive. The world population is about 6 billion and is projected to reach 10 billion by 2040 pimentel. Effects of population growth and urbanization in the pacific islands more than 35 percent of the people of the pacific islands live and work in towns, and the rate of urban population growth throughout most of the region is high figure 1. The formula for exponential population growth is nn 0 e rt where n 0 is the starting population, e is a logarithmic constant 2.
It it must refer to a specific word in the sentence or the reader can become confused. Populations in developed countries trend toward using substantially. Human population has had a significant impact on the environment. What is affecting our environment 31 what is affecting our environment 31. 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. Population and the environment the link between population growth and environmental impact seems obvious at first glance. What are the environmental impacts of human population. With more people coming, how is this going to affect the. In fact, the growth of the human species is the main factor in. Population growth, pollution and the global environment. The state of health of people depends on clean environment.
Of the many organizations involved in researching and discussing these associations, the international social science council established a working committee on population and the environment, which held a symposium in january 1991. These negative impacts can affect human behavior and can prompt mass migrations or battles over clean water. Changes like these have triggered climate change, soil erosion, poor air quality, and undrinkable water. Even differences in fertility rates between urban and rural regions, which were prominent until the midtwentieth century, have almost disappeared. The effects of population growth on the physical environment. As in any contested fieldand populationenvironment 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. The journal publishes cuttingedge research that contributes new insights on the complex, reciprocal links between human populations and the natural environment in all regions and countries of the world. Population is growing rapidly, far outpacing the ability of our planet to support it, given current practices. The challenge for environmental management david pimentel, x. Population affects the course of national economic development. One of the largest environmental effects of human population growth is the problem of global warming. The impact of human population growth on the worlds. The population growth of india from 1951 to 2001 is presented in table 1.
This rapid growth in the human population has significant effects on the physical environment by generating pollution, influencing climate change and threatening species diversity. Holdren the interlocking crises in popula tion, resources, and environment have been the focus of countless papers, dozens of. Researchers investigated how a projected 16 per cent increase in the human population in britain by 2031 would affect key ecosystem services depending on how cities expanded to meet the growing demand. While population growth, of any species, may be beneficial to a certain extent, there may come a time when the number in the population exceeds the natural resources available to sustain it. Essay on effects of population growth on environment. Help your students understand the impact humans have on the. Impact of a growing population on natural resources. Human population effects on the environment chapter summary. The consequences of such an event are severe and major. 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. Human population effects on the environment videos. One of the factors responsible for environment degradation is population growth or population density. One of the motives that drove to the spread of the virus was to wipe out human kind in order to. Human population impacts environment science in many ways.
There is an inverse relationship existing between population growth and environment as overpopulation will lead to adverse effect on the environment. Human geography effects of population on the environment. Environmental impacts of population growth big societies consume more resources compared to small ones, patterns of consumption and choices of technology may result in more environmental impacts compared to the number of people. Start the discussion today with the notion of sustainability. Effects of overpopulation onthe environment schooled by. What are environmental problems due to population growth. Humans impact the physical environment in many ways. In september of 2009, the journal environment and urbanization showed that the places where population is growing the fastest are those where carbon emissions have been growing most slowly. Does the rate at which people are reproducing need to be controlled to save the environment. It is not the census figures alone that need to be stressed, but an appreciation of the impact on natural resources of the rapid escalation in the. The largest single threat to the ecology and biodiversity of the planet in the decades to come will be global climate disruption due to the buildup of humangenerated greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Victor fodeke, an expert on waste management and environmental issues, to discuss how population impacts the environment. The geometric rise in human population levels during the twentieth century is the fundamental cause of the loss of biodiversity. Population growth is the increase in the number of people living in a particular area.
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