Describe and explain the ways in which a rapid growth in population can pose a threat to the physical environment

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Geography: Physical

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Describe and explain the ways in which a rapid growth in population can pose a threat to the physical environment.

Rapid growth in population is a large in crease of the amount of people living in a region over a short period of time, which can lead to various consequences. There are many examples of rapid population increase around the globe this essay: India and China. Environmentalists have long been concerned about the resources threatened by rapidly growing human populations, focusing on issues such as deforestation, desertification, air pollution and global warming. But the worst-case scenario for people experiencing overpopulation is a lack of fresh, clean water. Rapid population growth can lead to many social problems but this essay will look at various hazards a rapid growth in population puts on the physical environment.

When the population of a region increases rapidly over a short period drastic consequences can occur. In India, the population has an estimated growth rate of 1.548%, and with a total population of around 1.177 billion (2009 est.). This means that the population is growing very rapidly; India covers 2.4% of the globe and 1 in every 6 person is Indian. Carrying capacity is the largest population that an area or region can carry or support, through natural resources and space. The current escalation of food prices in the country, caused by: demand, poor supply. Poor food distribution can lead to starvation in different areas, with lots of food transported to urban areas leaving rural areas to rely on self-sufficiency. This then leads to an overall increase in inflation has once again drawn the attention to food, energy, and poverty, depleting natural resources, environment and population. The Science summit on world population had drawn attention to “the intertwined problems of rapid population growth, wasteful resource consumption, environmental degradation, and poverty”. Others have raised the question of feeding the growing population of India. A large country with a population of a billion plus, adding 11 million each year, ought to have long-term food and nutritional self-sufficiency. Availability of water is the first limiting factor for food production in the country. Water can be augmented with appropriate technologies and energy inputs, the extreme being the use of de-salinised seawater. However, at present the country is short of food, energy and water. Current GDP growth of 8–9% and growing prosperity would increase competing demand for all three. Further, population and income growth would accelerate loss of prime cropland to non-agricultural uses, to satisfy the need for housing, transport, recreation and industries. This calls for a science-based estimate of the carrying capacity of India. Building the entire needed infrastructure destroys the physical environment; it also adds to the production of harmful gases. The India example shows the issues of the amount of food available for a rapidly growing popuation.

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China has many critical issues on their hands when it comes to their environment. Some major contributing factors are, over population, air pollution, and deforestation. Rapid industrialisation and social change have raised the standard of living for millions of its people. If this country does not get a hold on these issues, more deaths will occur and more natural disaster will become challenging issue for their country that could put a strain on the entire world. China's over population and growth has made the environment extremely hazardous to the health and well being of Asia's culture. A country with 1,311,709,000 ...

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