A growing population leads to several environmental issues as well as social problems. ...

As a result of
this overpopulation we experience social issues such as increased rates of poverty, crime, disease, and
environmental problems such as increased global warming, natural disasters, loss of habitat, pollution,
and more.

The rapid increase of human population is putting an incredible strain on our environment. While
developed countries continue to pollute the environment and deplete its resources, developing
countries are under increasing pressure to compete economically and their industrial advancements are
damaging as well. The demands that this growth places on our global environment are threatening the
future of sustainable life on earth. One of the largest environmental effects of human population growth
is the problem of global warming. Some scientists fear that global warming will lead to rising sea levels
and extreme weather conditions in the future. In order to support the growing population, forests are
being destroyed at an alarming rate. Humans also continue to put a great demand on the natural
resources of our planet. Many non-renewable resources are being depleted due to the unrestrained use
of fuel and energy. Many parts of the world also suffer from a shortage of food and water. The growth of
population puts larger demands on our already limited resources. The environment on earth is suffering
from the growth of global population. The depletion of resources and biodiversity, the production of
waste, and the destroying of natural habitat are serious problems that must be addressed in order to
ensure that life on earth will be sustainable throughout the next century. Keywords: Industrial
advancements, Land and soil degradation, global warming, Climate change, Air and water pollution,
Deforestation, Physical environment.

The current population of the Earth is over 7.6 billion people and growing. It could reach 8 billion by
2025, 9 billion by 2040, and a whopping 11 billion by 2100. Population is growing rapidly, far outpacing
the ability of our planet to support it, given current practices.

Overpopulation is associated with negative environmental and economic outcomes ranging from the
impacts of over-farming, deforestation, and water pollution to eutrophication and global warming.

While a lot of positive steps are being taken to better ensure the sustainability of humans on our planet,
the problem of having too many people has made lasting solutions more challenging to find.
Overpopulation, Briefly Defined

The term overpopulation is used to describe a situation in which the world or area has a population so
large that the people there are suffering as a result. In other words, the population exceeds the region or
planet's carrying capacity--the number of people, other living organisms, or crops that can be supported
without environmental degradation. Their suffering may include a shortage of food, limited access to
healthcare and other public services, overcrowding, and high unemployment.

Causes of Overpopulation

Overpopulation is largely attributed to trends such as people living longer and enjoying higher live birth
rates. Overpopulation of specific locations can also result from migration.

Oddly enough, the overpopulation of an area can occur without a net gain of population. It can result
from a reduction in the carrying capacity of a region, such as reduced agricultural yield due to over
farming or drought. Such conditions may lead to an out-migration.

Environmental Effects of Overpopulation

The relationship between overpopulation and environmental impacts are often interrelated and
complex.

Below are some of the key sustainability challenges associated with overpopulation. For the sake of
simplicity they are listed separately, but understand the connections between them are complicated,
which makes them more challenging to manage.

Farming impacts

A growing agricultural base to feed an expanding world population comes with its own complications. As
the global population increases, more food is needed. Such measures may be met through more
intensive farming, or through deforestation to create new farm lands, which in turn can have negative
outcomes. Agriculture is responsible for about 80 percent of deforestation, worldwide.
The yield of existing farmland can be increased through intensive farming to feed our rapidly growing
population. This approach is characterized by reliance on mechanization, pesticides and chemical
fertilizers. Such practices can be associated with soil erosion or depletion. According to the World
Wildlife Fund, the land used and abandoned in the last 50 years globally may be equal to the amount of
land used today. As well, the agricultural runoff of excess fertilizers is one of the main causes of
eutrophication, which depletes waters from oxygen and results in significant negative impacts for marine
life.

Deforestation

Deforestation in turn leads to a reduced ability to capture CO2, thus exasperating the greenhouse gas
problem. Tropical rainforests in South America are responsible for producing 20 percent of the Earth's
oxygen. Deforestation is also strongly associated with loss of habitat and extinctions. Agriculture, as
mentioned above, is responsible for about 80% of global deforestation. Another 14 percent is attributed
to logging, 5 percent to firewood collection, and the balance resulting from other causes.

Human population increase is related to all of these deforestation pressures. More people means we
need more food, more wood products, and more firewood.

Eutrophication

Agricultural runoff is one of the main causes of eutrophication, the presence of excessive nutrients in
bodies of waster, such as large pockets like the Dead Zone of the Gulf of Mexico.

Worldwide, there are more than 400 marine 'dead zones' caused by eutrophication, collectively covering
an area six times the size of Switzerland.

Eutrophication causes the dense growth of plant life that consumes oxygen, resulting in the death of
aquatic animals. Other major sources of eutrophication are industry and sewage disposal--both related
to population growth. The cost of mediating eutrophication in the U.S. is over $2.2 billion annually.
Recent research points out that there are other important impacts other than food production, such as
clothing and manufactured good production. Cotton or linen production, for example, can involve direct
agricultural impacts associated with growing crops. The use of fossil fuel for electrical production to
power factories also creates NOx emissions, which can ultimately be absorbed by oceans to increase
their nutrient load.

Loss of Fresh Water

While there is plenty of water on the planet, it is very much a scarce resource. Only 2.5 percent of water
resources are fresh water, and just a small fraction of that is available as unpolluted drinking water.

One of the byproducts of population growth has been stress on freshwater supplies. "Water stressed" is
defined as a case of demand exceeding the supply of suitable water available. According to one report,
around 15 percent of the world's population lived in "water stressed" regions in 2016, the amount has
been projected to reach 50 percent by 2030. Another commentator expects 2/3 of the world's
population to be living with water shortages by 2025, which he attributes to population growth.

Also consider that population growth is most rapid in part of the world where water is in high demand
already, such as Africa, Southeast, Southwest, and Central Asia, and Oceania.

Global Warming

Human population growth and climate change have grown hand in hand as the use of fossil fuels has
exploded to support industrialized societies. "More people means more demand for oil, gas, coal and
other fuels mined or drilled from below the Earth’s surface that, when burned, spew enough carbon
dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere to trap warm air inside like a greenhouse," notes Scientific American.
Most fossil fuel consumption comes from developed countries. It is a sobering thought that most
developing nations aspire to similar industrial economies as they experience economic growth, which
further escalates CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.

Deforestation is another important component of greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, forests store more
than twice the amount of carbon dioxide than is found in the atmosphere. As forests are cleared and
burned, that CO2 is released into the atmosphere, accounting for an estimated 25 percent of total
greenhouse gas production.

Outlook for Overpopulation and Sustainability

There are issues aplenty to overcome. Clearly, initiatives to switch to clean energy sources such as solar,
improve agricultural practices, better manage water resources and fully embrace the principles of the
circular economy will help us mitigate the impact of population growth. At the other end of the
spectrum, policies that encourage family planning, education, gender equity and other measures to help
slow population growth will help reduce pressure on the planet.

possible sollutions to over population

1. Empower women

Studies show that women with access to reproductive health services find it easier to break out of
poverty, while those who work are more likely to use birth control. The United Nations Population Fund
aims to tackle both issues at once, running microcredit projects to turn young women into advocates for
reproductive health.

2. Promote family planning

Simply educating men and women about contraception can have a big impact. When Iran introduced a
national family planning programme in 1989, its fertility rate fell from 5.6 births per woman to 2.6 in a
decade. A similar effort in Rwanda saw a threefold increase in contraception usage in just five years.

Image: Flickr user Tomizak

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3. Make education entertaining

The US-based Population Media Center gets creative to reach women. Its radio soap operas, which
feature culturally specific stories about reproductive issues, have been heard by as many as 500 million
people in 50 countries. In Ethiopia, 63 per cent of women seeking reproductive health services reported
tuning in.

4. Government incentives

Those at UK charity Population Matters believe there should be a senior government official responsible
for addressing population-related issues. They urge governments to promote “responsible parenthood”
and say subsidies should be limited to the first two children unless the family is living in poverty.

5) One-child legislation

During China’s high controversial one-child policy, fertility fell from six births per woman in the 1960s to
1.5 in 2014. However, Amnesty International reports that the policy led to coerced or forced abortions
and sterilisations. It also disrupted traditional support structures for the elderly and led to a gender
imbalance.

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7 Causes, Effects, and Solutions to Overpopulation

By Crystal Lombardo - October 21, 201657205

8-solutions-to-overpopulation
Overpopulation is a big issue that affects everyone in the world, both in the present and in the future.
This is particularly true in countries that have high population densities, such as China, Bahrain, and
Bangladesh. Overpopulation happens not just because of high birth rates, but also because of the
increased availability of good medical care, which can lead to a longer lifespan. With people living longer
lives, the balance between birth rates and death rates has shifted, and it’s now easy for a country’s
population to grow beyond what is sustainable.

Having a large population is dangerous since it spreads meager resources too thin. As a result, people
don’t get enough food, water, shelter, and clothing, and distributing basic services like healthcare and
education becomes a huge challenge. A high population density, meanwhile, forces people to live closer
to each other than normal (which can compromise health and sanitation) and reduces the amount of
land that’s available for agricultural use.

Overpopulation is not easy to solve. However, there are several solutions that governments can explore,
such as the following:

1. Spreading Awareness About Overpopulation.

Most people nowadays aren’t really familiar with overpopulation and its negative effects, and this lack of
awareness can lead to families that don’t limit the number of children they have. However, when people
are thoroughly educated about overpopulation, they become more aware of how their actions affects
the entire country, and they can deliberately do their part to keep their country’s population at a
sustainable level.

2. Making Family Planning Services More Available.

Many people know about the effects of overpopulation and want to limit the number of children they
have, but they don’t know where to start or what to do. This is where family planning services come in.
Most family planning clinics educate couples about the appropriate number of years in between children
and discuss how proper pregnancy spacing can help improve maternal and child health. They also inform
couples about the steps they can take to prevent unplanned pregnancies, such as going through
voluntary sterilization or using artificial contraception. With these information at hand, couples can
effectively plan how they can have the ideal number of children.
3. Making Birth Control Products More Available.

Many unplanned pregnancies occur among poor women simply because they don’t have access to birth
control pills and devices. These products are often sold at a high prices, making them inaccessible to
those who don’t have a large budget. Governments can counter this by creating a program that makes
birth control products available for free or at a substantial discount and spreading awareness about this
program. It might seem to expensive at first glance but, in the long run, preventing pregnancies is much
cheaper than dealing with the effects of overpopulation.

4. Incorporating Overpopulation Awareness In School.

Adults are not the only ones who should know about overpopulation and its negative effects. To make
the next generation aware of this issue, it’s important for schools to integrate lessons about population
in curriculum for all levels. This way, children will understand the economic and environmental impacts
of overpopulation and will grow up knowing how they can help solve this problem. They will also be
aware of the emotional, psychological, and medical effects of having numerous pregnancies, both on
mothers and on children, which can help them make the right decisions for their family when they
become adults.

5. Working With Religious Institutions.

A lot of people want to practice family planning or use birth control pills/devices but are not able to do
so because of their religion. Others, meanwhile, simply dismiss these products and services because they
firmly believe that limiting pregnancies goes against their religious beliefs. Because of this, it’s important
for governments to work hand in hand with religious institutions. This way, they can promote the use of
family planning and artificial contraceptives (and limit overpopulation in the process) while still giving
people the freedom to practice their religion.

6. Removing Policies That Reward Large Families.

Many countries around the world have policies that, intentionally or no, reward families with more
children. In the UK, for example, those who have three children or more can take advantage of the
Earned Income Tax Credit (as long as they fulfill the income requirements). Other countries, meanwhile,
offer fertility incentives to entice couples to procreate and have more children.
It’s not fair to say that these policies and rewards are the primary reasons why people have more
children. However, they’re an important factor to consider since, in one way or another, they do reduce
the burden of parents and make having more kids a more attractive option. Obviously, removing these
rewards will cause an uproar among people, so governments should think of ways to change these
policies without putting existing large families at risk of poverty and food insecurity.

7. Implementing New Government Policies.

Aside from removing policies that promote overpopulation, governments should introduce new rules
that will help with population control. China, for example, introduced its one-child policy in the late
1970s and demanded that couples should have no more than one child.

The Chinese government insists that the policy has prevented 400 million births, although this claim has
not been independently verified. Whether this is true or not, the one-child policy has resulted to positive
effects; girls, who traditionally had lower status in households, are now given more opportunities for
education and self-improvement. However, there are also negative effects: an increase in abortion rates,
a skewed sex ratio (due to the traditional preference for sons), and higher rates of abandonment for
baby girls, among others.

Many people consider the one-child policy to be controversial because of its negative impact. It’s
important to note, though, that this isn’t the only way to counter overpopulation. Instead of actually
limiting the number of births, government can provide financial rewards to families with one or two
children and increasing the required taxes for those who bear three children and more. This way, parents
still have the freedom to choose how they want to grow their family, but they’ll have to face
consequences if they insist on having many children.