Human Population and the Environment

1. Human Population and the Environment POPULATION GROWTH, VARIATION AMONG NATIONS: Our global human population, has now surpassed 7 billion. It took about thirty nine thousand years of human history to reach 1 billion, 130 years to reach the second billion, 45 years to reach 4 billion and the next doubling is likely within a span of a few decades.

2. Population Characteristics and variation among nations: • Exponential growth: Population growth takes place exponentially and that explains the dramatic increase in global population in past 150 years. • Doubling time: The time needed for a population to double its size at a constant annual rate is known as doubling time. It is calculated as follows: • Td = 70/ r • Where, • Td = Doubling time in years • r = annual growth rate of population • 3) Total fertility rates( TFR); It is defined as the average number of children that would be born to a woman in her lifetime if the age-specific birth rate remain constant. The value of TFR varies from 1.9 in developed nation to 4.7 in developing nations.

5. 4) Infant mortality rate: It is the percentage of infants dies out of those born in a year. Although the rate has declined in the past 50 years, but the pattern differs widely in developed and developing countries.

6. 4) Age structure: Based upon the people belonging to different age classes like pre-reproductive (0-14 years),reproductive (15-44 years) and post reproductive (45 years and above) population of any country can be represented by age pyramids.It can be of three type: 1) Pyramid shape: Its indicates the positive population growth and observed in nation like India, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nigeria etc. This is characterize by more number of very young population.

7. 2) Bell shaped: This indicates the stablize population growth nation. In theses countries like France, USA and Canada the birth rate has decline in last two decades and there by not much growth is likely for the people entering into reproductive age group. 3) Urn shaped: In these countries like Germany, Italy ,Hungary, Sweden and Japan, number of individuals in very young age is smaller than the middle reproductive age class. So, indicating negative population growth in future decades.

8. 5) Zero population growth (ZPG): When birth plus immigration in a population are equal to deaths plus emigration, it is said to be zero population growth. Nations such as Japan, Italy, Greece are showing Zero population or negative population growth. 6) Male-Female ratio: The ratio of boys and girls should be fairly balanced in a society to flourish. In India this ratio is 933/1000, in rural area this ratio is 946/1000 and urban areas it is 900/1000.

9. Kerala is having the highest ration between states 1,058 and Haryana has the lowest ratio of 861. 7) Life expectancy: It is the average age that a newborn infant is expected to attain in a given country. In the last 100 years improved medical facilities and technological advancement has increased the average life expectancy on global scale from 40 to 60.5 years over the past century.

10. POPULATION EXPLOSION – FAMILY WELFARE PROGRAM: • The unprecedented growth of human population at an alarming rate is referred as population explosion. Population explosion is causing severe resource depletion and environmental degradation. There are two very important view on population growth: • Malthusian Theory: Human population tend to grow at an exponential or compound rate whereas food production increases very slowly or remain stable. He believes “positive checks” like famines, disease outbreak by nature will stabilize the population growth rate. • Marxian Theory: According to Karl Marx, population growth is a symptom rather than the cause of poverty, resource depletion, pollution and other social ills. The greatest challenge the world now faces is how to supply its exploding human population with the resources it needs. It is evident that without controlling human numbers, the Earth’s resources will be rapidly exhausted. In response to our phenomenal population growth, India seriously took up an effective Family Planning Program which was renamed the Family Welfare Program.

11. At the global level by the year 2000, 600 million, or 57% of women in the reproductive age group, were using some method of contraception. However the use of contraceptive measures is higher in developed countries – 68%, and lower in developing countries - 55%. India and China have been using permanent sterilization more effectively than many other countries in the developing world. The mass sterilization programme (1975-77) of India become infamous also due to the way it was carried out. Informing the public about the various contraceptive measures that are available is of primary importance. This must be done actively by Government Agencies such as Health and Family Welfare, as well as education and extension workers. Urbanization: In 1975 only 27% of the people in the developing world lived in urban areas. By 2000 this had grown to 40% and by 2030 well informed estimates state that this will grow to 56%. Globally, the number of cities with 10 million or more inhabitants is increasing rapidly, and most of these new "megacities" are in developing regions. Like many other demographic changes, urbanization has both positive and negative effects.

12. Cities and towns have become the engines of social change and rapid economic development. Urbanisation is associated with improved access to education, employment, health care; these result in increase in age at marriage, reduction in family size and improvement in health indices.

13. Urban population growth has outpaced the development of basic minimum services; housing, water supply, sewerage and solid waste disposal are far from adequate; increasing waste generation at home, offices and industries, coupled with poor waste disposal facilities result in rapid environmental deterioration. Increasing automobiles add to air pollution. ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH • According to World Health Organization (WHO) health is “ a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. Human health is influenced by many factors like nutritional, biological, chemical or psychological. • Infectious organisms: Disease causing organism pose greater threats to health, more severely in the developing countries especially in the tropical one. Infectious organism can cause respiratory diseases (pneumonia, tuberculosis, influenza etc) and gastrointestinal diseases ( diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera etc). Beside these various type of parasites also causes disease such as malaria, filariasis, schistosomiasis etc. • 2) Chemicals: Food contaminated by chemicals is a major worldwide public health concern. Contamination may occur through environmental pollution

14. of the air, water and soil. Toxic metals, PCBs and dioxins, or the intentional use of various chemicals, such as pesticides, animal drugs and other agrochemicals have serious consequences on human health. 3) Cancer and environment Cancer is caused by the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells that may affect almost any tissue of the body. Lung, colon, rectal and stomach cancer are among the five most common cancers in the world for both men and women. More than 10 million people are diagnosed with cancer in the world every year. It is estimated that there will be 15 million new cases every year by 2020. Cancer causes 6 million deaths every year – or 12% of deaths worldwide. Early detection and effective treatment is possible for a further one-third of cases. Most of the common cancers are curable by a combination of surgery, chemotherapy (drugs) or radiotherapy (X-rays). The chance of cure increases if cancer is detected early.

15. 4) Water-related diseases • About 2.4 billion people globally live under highly unsanitary conditions. Poor hygiene and behavior pattern increase the exposure to risk of incidence and spread of infectious diseases. There are 4 major types of water related • diseases: • Water borne diseases: These are caused by dirty water contaminated by human and animal wastes, especially from urban sewage, or by chemical wastes from industry and agriculture. Some of these diseases, such as cholera and typhoid, cause serious epidemics. Diarrhoea, dysentery, polio, meningitis, and hepatitis A and E, are caused due to improper drinking water. • 2) Water based diseases: Aquatic organisms that live a part of their life cycle in water and another part as a parasite in man, lead to several diseases. In India, guinea worm affects the feet. Round worms live in the small intestine, especially of children. • 3) Water related vector diseases: Insects such as mosquitoes that breed in • stagnant water spread diseases such as malaria, Dengue and filariasis.

16. 4) Water scarcity diseases: In areas where water and sanitation is poor, there is a high incidence of diseases such as tuberculosis, leprosy, tetanus, etc. which occur when hands are not adequately washed. HUMAN RIGHTS Environmental issues are closely linked to human rights. These include the equitable distribution of environmental resources, the utilisation of resources and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), resettlement issues around development projects such as dams and mines, and access to health to prevent environment related diseases. The Universal declaration of Human Right (UNDHR) by the UN on December 10, 1948 provide comprehensive protection to all individuals against all form of injustice and human right violation. On May 16, 1994 at Geneva, the United Nation drafted the first ever Declaration of Human Rights and Environment, which embodies the right of every human being to a healthy, secure and ecologically sound environment. The main points of this drafts are:

17. Part 1: It deals with human rights for an ecologically –sound environment, sustainable development and peace for all. • Part 2 : It mainly deals with human right related to an environment free from pollution and degradation. It defines right to own native land or home. • Part 3: It deals with right of every person to environment education, information, awareness and also public participation in environmental decision making. • Part 4: It deals with the duties of states and citizens to protect and preserve the environment and prevent environmental harm. • Part 5: This lay stress on social justice and equity with respect to use of natural resources and sustainable development. VALUE EDUCATION Value education in the context of our environment is expected to bring about a new sustainable way of life. The different component of value education are as follows:

18. 1) Environmental Values: The Western, modern approach values the resources of Nature for their utilitarian importance alone. However true environmental values go beyond valuing a river for its water, a forest for its timber and non-wood forest products, or the sea for its fish. Environmental values are inherent in feelings that bring about a sensitivity for preserving nature as a whole. 2) Valuing Nature: We must appreciate that we belong to a global community that includes another 1.8 million known living forms. We need to develop a sense of values that lead us to protect what is left of the wilderness by creating effective National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries. Most of the current environmental movement focuses on issues that are concerned with the management of the natural environment for the ‘benefit’ of man, however Deep Ecology promotes an approach that is expected to bring about a more appropriate ecological balance on Earth and is akin to a spiritual approach to Nature.

19. 3) Valuing cultures Every culture has a right to exist. Tribal people are frequently most closely linked with Nature and we have no right to force on them our own modern way of life. We have to take measures to provide them with modern health care and education that gives them an opportunity to achieve a better economic status without disrupting their culture and way of life. 4) Social justice As the divide widens between those people who have access to resourcesand wealth, and those who live near or below the poverty line, it is the duty of those who are better off to protect the rights of the poor who do not have the means to fight for their rights. The developing world would face a crisis earlier than the developed countries unless the rights of poor people that are fundamental to life are protected. 5) Human heritage Heritage preservation is now a growing environmental concern because much of this heritage has been undervalued during the last several decades and is vanishing at an astonishing pace.

20. 6) Equitable use of resources An unfair distribution of wealth and resources, based on a world that is essentially only for the rich, will bring about a disaster of unprecedented proportions. Equitable use of resources is now seen as an essential aspect of human well being and must become a shared point of view among all socially and environmentally conscious individuals. 7) Common Property Resources The water that nature recycles, the air that we all breathe, the forests and grasslands which maintain our climate and soil, are all common property resources. The proper sharing and its management through community participation is essential for these resource conservation. 8) Ecological degradation Changes in land use from natural ecosystems to more intensive utilization such as turning forests into monoculture forestry plantations, wetlands into agriculture land leads to its degradation. carry an ecological price. There is need for conserving such ecosystem before they get damage to a extent that we cant replenish them back.

21. HIV/AIDS The Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) which mainly spread from infected person to other individuals due to contact with tissue fluids during needle sharing, blood transfusion and unprotected sex. HIV can also pass from infected mothers to their babies during pregnancy, delivery or breast feeding. HIV, however doesn’t spread through tears, sweat, urine or by sharing utensils, towels, clothing's and insect bites. AIDS itself does not kill humans, the HIV destroy or disables the T-cells in the human body which are the key infection fighters in the immune system, resulting into making human body more susceptible for the other infectious disease. The AIDS was discovered in 1983, however yet not sufficient information is available regarding its primary source. Most evidence suggest that AIDS has spreads from Africa and the virus has been transferred from primates like African monkey or Chimpanzees.

22. Recent estimates indicates that about 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS worldwide and 70% of them are in Sub Saharan African region. By 2002, India had an estimated 3.97 million infected individuals. HIV/AIDS has been identified as the fourth largest cause of mortality and about 3 million people died due to HIV/AIDS in 2003. HIV/ AIDS has a serious impact on the socioeconomic fabric of society: 1) Household income: If the working head of family suffers from AIDS it reduces the household income which may have repercussions for every member of the family such as Children may be forced to abandon their education. 2) Basic necessities : The poor households coping with members who are sick from HIV or AIDS has to reduce spending on necessities such as clothing, electricity etc. even further. 3) Food production: The AIDS epidemic adds to food insecurity in many areas, as agricultural work is neglected or abandoned due to household illness. Some studies shows that HIV/AIDS results into decrease in crop production by 20% in countries like Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

23. WOMAN AND CHILD WELFARE Each year, close to eleven million children worldwide are estimated to have died from the effects of disease and inadequate nutrition. Seven out of 10 of childhood deaths in developing countries can be attributed to five main causes, or a combination of them. These are pneumonia, diarrhoea, measles, malaria and malnutrition. Respiratory conditions: Crowded ill-ventilated homes and living in smokey households with open fires can trigger respiratory conditions especially in children. Pneumonia: Acute respiratory infections (ARI), most frequently pneumonia, is a major cause of death in children under five, killing over two million children annually. Gastro intestinal conditions: Contaminated water and food causes widespread ill health especially in children. Two million children die each year in developing countries from diarrhoeal diseases, the second most serious killer of children under five worldwide. By promoting rapid and effective treatment through standardized management, including antibiotics and simple measures such as oral rehydration using clean boiled water with salt and sugar.

24. Poverty-environment-malnutrition: There is a close association between poverty, a degraded environment, and malnutrition. Although malnutrition is rarely listed as the direct cause of death, it contributes to about half of all childhood deaths. Poor feeding practices - inadequate mother milk , providing the wrong foods, giving food in insufficient quantities, contribute to malnutrition. Malnourished children are more vulnerable to disease. Women welfare: Women, especially in lower income group families, both in the rural and urban sector, work longer hours than men. The daily collection of water, fuel wood and fodder is an arduous task for rural women. Women are often the last to get enough nutrition as their role in traditional society is to cook the family meal and feed their husband and children. This leads to malnutrition and anemia due to inadequate nutrition. The sorry plight of women includes the fact that the girl child is given less attention and educational facilities as compared to boys in India.

25. ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH: The understanding of environmental concerns and issues related to human health has exploded during the last few years due to the sudden growth of Information Technology. The Internet with its thousands of websites has made it extremely simple to get the appropriate environmental information for any study or environmental management planning which helped in increase public awareness about environmental issues. Specialized software can analyze data for epidemiological studies, population dynamics and a variety of key environmental concerns. Some of the key contribution of IT in environment and human health are as follows: 1) Database on Environment and Health: The ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India has taken up the task of compiling database on various biotic communities. The comprehensive database includes wildlife database, forest cover database. The MOEF established Environmental Information System (ENVIS) in December, 1982 for providing information to decision makers, policy planners, Scientists and research workers.

26. 2) Geographical Information System (GIS) : It is a very important tool in environmental management. GIS is a technique of superimposing various thematic maps using digital data on a large number of inter-related or inter- dependent aspects. Main application of GIS are: • It is useful in land use planning so provide important information for future project development. • Interpretation of polluted zones, degraded ecosystem or diseased crop can be made based on GIS. • GIS helps in providing correct, reliable and verifiable information about forest cover, success of conservation effort. • It provide information about atmospheric phenomenon such as approach of monsoon, ozone layer depletion, cyclone formation etc. • It can help in exploring new areas where navigation is difficult for human being.