Human Population Ecology - Essay Example

Human Population Ecology   The development of modern society in the West took place along with the interplay of science, technology and economy, which led to advancement of human life and its essence. With time the impact of these developments went beyond every limit leading to ecological crisis, which poses a risk to our survival in the long run. The problems in the environment are gradually recognized and probable corrections are sought. The relationship of individuals with their environment (biotic and abiotic) is an ecological problem1. This in turn affects the growth in population. As a population increase the resources become scarce. Therefore the alterations in number of births and deaths also decelerate. The human population has been growing persistently since the 1650, finally reaching a figure of 6 billion by late 1999 and 6.3 billion by 2003. Now whether this growth will continue consistently depends on ecological aspects. While ecologists might in certain circumstances feel that growth in human population might stop, in other cases they suggest that there is no permanent reason to restrain the growth. A rapid growth is supposed to have taken place owing to factors like a fast decline in death rate, modern techniques and processes of sanitation, an enhancement if growth of food facilities and distribution, improved medical care facilities and with time the improved living standards and higher level of income led the decline in birth rate to come to terms with death rate. In different European nations in 2003 the growth in human population has become negative or zero. As per the “medium variant forecast” of United Nations, a growth of zero percent is predicted for 2100. At that point of time, around 11 billion is the target population to be achieved. The population of the world reached one billion in 1850, two billion in another 100 years and 6.3 billion in 2003. As per Lomborg 60 percent of this growth would be skewed towards 12 nations. The regions outside Asian and African countries might not undergo the problems with population density. The population growth is highest in Asia where the zenith was achieved during 1989-91 with an addition of around 58 million births every year. The population growth has decreased gradually to 0.013 in 20032. Each individual contributes another individual to the population, which can be called the per capita rate of increase. According to the ‘Essentials of Ecology’ population growth follows an ‘Exponential Growth Model’. The rate of per capita increase in the population can also be called ‘the increasing rate of natural increase’ and it is denoted by ‘r’. This r includes birth, death and also immigration. Therefore the increase in the total population will be (r.N) where r is the per capita rate and N is the total population Now if we consider the rate of change of the total population(N) with time that is dN/dt (where t is time) then it will be equal to r.N. So dN/dt=r.N.3. But world’s population growth does not always follow the pattern. The decade with 2005 as the mid year has seen three notable demographic transitions. The dependency ratio will increase from 2000 onwards, from 2007 onwards urban population will exceed the rural population, and from 2003 onwards women will have too few of their offspring to replace them or their family in the future. The rate of growth of the world’s population has been the maximum around the period of 1965 to 1970. Neither before nor after this period has the population growth attained such a high rate of about 2.1% a year. ‘The rapid decline in the crude death rate’, decline in the mortality rate and not so decreases in the birth rate results in such a higher growth rate during that period4. The rapid decrease in the growth rate after 1970 has been mainly because of the increasing consciousness of the people in family planning. Moreover this century and the upcoming one will see an increase in the demographic imbalance between the less developed countries and the developing one in their population growth. The ratio of the population growth is likely to increase from 2:1 to almost 6:1.There are certain trends, which are expected to prevail during the upcoming centuries. Though the growth rate has decreased population growth has not stopped to grow rapidly The immediate impact of population growth is on different unknown and new kinds of diseases and infection, which in turn take their toll on the environment. The changes in regional topography cause change in habitat, which in turn affect the dynamics of ecology. With the increase in human population the ecology alters, for instance, there are pathogens, which change their host form pigs to human beings. Such pathogens now take advantage of the genetic diversity and in turn affect the human population. This evolution of new infectious diseases (like AIDS) along with reemergence of the traditional ones resulting from ecological imbalance causes more urgency for the human population to spend more time in medical research. This environmental health also has a huge impact on human population apart from food and other aspects. Again with the increase in human activities one might find a rise in waste products, pollution of the air and hazardous substances, which in turn endanger the health of human population, thereby restraining its growth. In fact ecological risks range from destruction of habitat and “disruptions of food supplies”5. When the habitat of a particular species is destroyed the respective pathogens will migrate to human beings especially when their population density is on the rise. Low fertility rate implies low population growth. In European countries the fertility rate is decreasing continuously and as a result of that the populations of the countries are decreasing or growing very slowly6. Mortality rate on the other hand is related to death rate. There are different types of mortality rate like the fatal mortality, infant mortality and maternal mortality7. Increase in the child and infant mortality rates slows down the population growth. Taking an example of Europe and Asia this can be explained. For instance, if r is the intrinsic growth rate then this can be represented by r= b-d where ‘b’ is the birth rate per thousand population and ‘d’ is the death rate per thousand population. Now even if the birth rate in Asia is brought down to match the fertility rate in Europe which is increased along with suitable changes in death rate in order to bring about an equalization between the intrinsic growth rate of the two continents, in the near future one would find that Asian population will exceed that of Europe because of the former’s fertility rate. However in case of Asia the generation time is brief which might affect the growth in population to some extent (Rockwood, 9). However this ‘r’ does not consider the age structure or proportion of population under every age category. It might be noted that human population in based upon specific time and place. Therefore one might perceive the role of a spatial unit. It is important to understand the time scale for the study of ecological populations. Therefore a population is affected by “fertility, mortality, immigration and emigration, by its recent history (through its age structure), and by its generation time, which is determined by its life history”8 Normally when a population emerges within an environment which has abundance of resources with little or no competitors and predators, the fertility rates are bound to be high and therefore growth of the population is at geometric progression depending upon life history (density-dependent growth). However the growth might be subdued by catastrophes such as landslides, floods and storms9. The decrease in the population growth rate in the developed countries will signify an increase in the dependency ratios of these countries as compared to the under developed or the developing countries of the world with high population growth rate. By dependency ratio we mean the ratio of the working population to the group dependent on those working one like the infants below 15 and the aged above 65. Economists often refer to this increase in the dependency ratio as a burden to the country because less of the population has to produce for a larger mass. Again if the current trends persist then population growth will be the maximum in the urban areas. With this continuous increase in the population economist are concerned with the most vital question of sustainability of the inhabitants. Some study predicts that the world will be richer in the future still some predicts a stagnant poverty. A development is said to be sustainable if it could meet the wants of the current generations without compromising the needs of the future generations. Though it is said that total production of the world can meet the needs of 50% excess of the present population at the level of subsistence but the question remains that whether enough resources remain to fulfill each and every needs of the future generations with ‘full freedom of choice’10. The birth rate of the population remains high due lack of proper family planning, increase in the infant mortality rate. Death rate of the population may also be high due to any natural calamities or improper sanitations etc. If both the birth rate and the death rate remain high then the population growth will be slow and fluctuating. If birth still remains high but death rate falls due to improved health care then the population growth is likely to remain high .If both the rates fall considerably then the population is expected to be steady and medium. However political and cultural factors also affect population growth. For instance in China the one child law has helped in controlling the population to some extend though it has led to the increase in baby girls at the orphanages. Also laws or restrains pertaining to immigration might also affect population. The rate at which immigrants are drawn towards a certain land depends on the culture of an economy. Therefore when the political and cultural factors interact with the ecological ones, the population growth might be properly determined. Owing to the reverse impact of human population growth on the ecology and vice versa, needs have been felt to curb the exponential growth in population especially in the less developed Asian and African nations. United Nations Conference on Population held in Cairo in 1994 has set out certain measures to stabilize world’s population growth to 7.6 billion by 2050. Family planning and other reproductive health programs should be provided to the masses. They should be properly educated about these programs. The people should be made to understand that economic development is an essential part of environmental protection and so to develop the economy through trade, investment and proper assistance. Condition of women should be improved by proper education, health facilities and employment opportunities for them. Proper education of the masses can be ensured without which no development is possible. The main aim of the organization is to provide ‘universal primary education by 2015’. The United Nations recognizes the right of every couple to determine the number of children the want to have, but access to proper education irrespective of their economic or social status is very crucial11. Men need to take proper responsibility for healthy pregnancy, proper childcare, and prevention of unwanted pregnancies and spread of terminated diseases12. Moreover every nation should take the initiative to control their population growth. Every government should initiate mass education, better health care and a proper family planning. Every nation could look for policies like ‘one child policy’ taken by China and reward couples with a single off spring. The general people have to be ultimately concerned about a proper family planning and thus to restrict the world’s population growth. The organization considers the necessity of structuring proper and suitable population policies and schemes as essential component of the development process. The effectiveness of small families to the couples and to the social context should be recognized. Every nation should formulate individual plans for control of population growth in the context of their respective policies and conditions. The UN conference declares, “while population has a direct effect on economic and social development and human development, conversely policies in the fields of education, health, housing, social security, employment and agriculture have an impact on population and therefore, require integrated national planning and coordinating action at the highest government level”13. The administration of the respective areas, which set national goals through population policies, should acknowledge the role of population and family planning in he well being of the society and individual households. Hence small families should be encouraged. Commissions and bodies to assess and predict present and future population growth should be established. Thus to conclude it is necessary to check the population growth immediately so that we can provide our future generation a healthy life and education to the masses in the ultimate way to achieve that. Education increases the conscious of common people in different social matters. With proper government initiative, cooperation of the common people the upcoming problems of population growth can be surely curtailed and a way to bring about a balance in the ecological factors with respect to human population can be achieved. Works Cited 1. Barcelona Field Studies Centre, “Demographic Transition Model” 27 Sept 2009, 16 Nov 2010, 2. Cohen E. Joel. “Human Population Grows Up”, Scientific American, Sept 2005. 3. MedicineNet.com, “Definition of Mortality rate”, 2002, 16Nov 2010 4. Nauser, Markus and Dietus Steiner, Human Ecology, London: Routledge, 2002 5. Malthus, Thomas. “Human Population Growth”. Biodiversity and conservation: a hypertext book by Peter j Bryant. Retrieve on 14th Nov 2010 from 6. Rand Corporation (Europe), “Population Implosion? Low Fertility and Policy Responses in the European Union”, 2005 16 Nov 2010 7. Townsend, Colin R., Begon, Michael, and John L Harper. Essentials of Ecology.3rd edition Blackwell, 2003 8. Rockwood, Larry L An Introduction to Population Ecology, London: Wiley-Blackwell, 2006 9. Tobin, Kathleen A. Politics and Population Control, New Jersey: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004. 10. Frumkin, Howard, Environmental Health, John Wiley and Sons, 2010 11. Tabah, Leon and Kono Shigemi. “World Population Trends in 1960-70”. 109 Intl Lab. Rev. 401 (1974). 16 Nov 2010 Read More