CONTEMPORARY ENVIRONMENTAL

STATUS
Introduction
• The last 100 years was characterized by exceptional
growth both in the human population and in the size of the
global economy
• Population quadrupled to 7 billion
• Global economic output increased about 20-fold
• This expansion has been accompanied by fundamental
changes in the scale, intensity and character of society’s
relationship with the natural world.
• The dependence of human development on the
environment and the consequences of human activity on
the biological, physical and chemical processes of the
Earth’s systems need to be addressed.
Impacts of human activities
• Alteration of the global carbon cycle by carbon dioxide
and methane emissions;
• Disruption of the nitrogen, phosphorous and sulphur
cycles;
• Interruptions in natural river flows that interfere with the
water cycle;
• Destruction of ecosystems that has led to the extinction
of countless species;
• And drastic modification of the planet’s land cover
Environment status
• Drivers of environmental changes
• Atmosphere
• Land
• Water
• Biodiversity
• Chemical and waste
• An earth system perspective
Drivers of environmental change

• Population growth
• Economic development
Seen as ever-present drivers of environmental
change
•
Population
• Many environmental pressures are proportional to the
number of people dependent on natural resources.

• When a population of deer, rats or any other animal grows

beyond the carrying capacity of their ecosystem, their
populations crash. Sometimes the ecosystem recovers
but sometimes it is permanently altered.

• This has been happening to human populations for

millennia as they grow beyond the capacity of their valley,
island or landscape to support their society, and they face
famine, plague or collapse.
Population-Quantity
• The human population reached 7 billion in 2011.

• Expected to reach 10 billion by 2100 (UN 2011).

• The Asia and Oceania region has the largest population

• Africa is the fastest-growing and most youthful region

• Europe and North America have the slowest-growing populations and the
highest proportion of elderly.
• Fertility, or the number of children per woman, is declining in almost all
countries. At the global level, birth rate fell from 37 births per thousand in
1950–1955 to 20 per thousand in 2005–2010
• Total fertility, declined from 4.9 in 1950–1955 to 2.6 in 2005–2010 (UN
2011).
• Mortality rates declined. Global average life expectancy in 1950–1955
was 47 years, while in 2005–2010 it was 65–68 for men and 70 for
women
Population pressures
• With the projected population growth mostly in world’s poorest cities, land-
cover change will take place in rural environments and demand for food and
wood will further increase.
• This change is mainly the conversion of forest to agriculture. Currently, 37.4
per cent of the planet’s land surface is used for agricultural production.
• Forest loss is linked to the international demand for agricultural products and
timber harvesting for urban consumption.
• A rising human population is also identified as the root cause of the water
crisis.
• Overall, humans use more than half of accessible water run-off.
• Much of Africa and the Middle East currently suffer a water scarcity that is
worsening with the expanding populations.
• Population growth has also been implicated in water scarcity in rapidly
developing countries such as China, where urban growth has accelerated a
decline in the availability of clean water.
Economic development
• Consumption and production
• Consumption of raw materials – minerals, water, food, fibre –
and energy. by industries and manufacturing of products that
are in turn consumed by individual customers
• During the 20th century, total material extraction increased
from 7 billion tonnes to almost 60 billion
• Consumption and production trends stabilized in developed
countries
• Emerging economies such as Brazil, China, India, and Mexico,
per-person resource use and associated environmental
impacts have increased since 2000.
• E.g. China has an economic growth rate of ten, relies mostly on
manufacturing and is now emit highest green-house gases.
Drivers pressure
• As population and economic development have continued
to grow despite depressions and downturns, technological
innovations have enhanced the integration of
communities and societies into a global civilization.
• Technological advances in energy and transport
continually generate new opportunities for growth in
production and consumption
• The inventions in communication and mobility has created
new goods and services that previous generations could
not have imagined.
• The growth and integration of human settlements,
societies and relationships is evidenced by rapid
urbanization and globalization.
• These drivers have particular components exerting
pressure:

• Energy
• Transport
• Urbanization
• Globalization