Overpopulation: Causes, Effects And Solutions
Overpopulation affects the environment and our life here on the planet because the very large number of people, consumes the limited resources such as land, fresh water and wood, at a much faster rate than they can can be replaced.
Overpopulation Definition
The definition of overpopulation says that the phenomenon is occurring when the number of people on Earth exceeds the capacity of the planet to sustain their needs in terms of natural resources.
In other words, the number of people on planet Earth reaches a level that cannot be sustained by the environment due to the large amount of resources consumed to support the population.
Causes of Overpopulation
Overpopulation is caused by several factors such as: a high birth rate due to improved life conditions, a decreased rate of mortality due to technological development and improved medical services provided for the population, and immigration.
1. High birth rate due to improved life conditions
Society evolves today due to the technological development, the general life conditions have been improved on the planet, and even if a large number of people in India and China suffer due to poverty and poor education, they continue to give birth to large families because they want to make up with the high infant mortality rate among them.
Such families that suffer due to poverty, will produce a large number of members because they need working hands, and their children will start working hard from the early stages of their life, instead of going to school like a normal child.
2. Decreased rate of mortality due to improved medical services
The technological development in the today’s society creates better medical conditions for the population.
The science continues to evolve today, and the rule of nature which says ‘the strongest to survive’ no longer applies to humans.
The development of the society is producing much more food today, the medical science can cure many more diseases, the technological advancements in fertility treatments have improved the birth rate among the population, and today we have better conditions to treat the older population, which decreases the mortality rate.
3. Immigration
Today we are witnessing a population exodus from poor countries to the developed countries such as: the U.S., Canada, the UK, the EU and even Australia.
Today we are witnessing a population exodus from poor countries to the developed countries such as: the U.S., Canada, the UK, the EU and Australia.
The large number of people known as immigrants try to seek better living conditions for their families.
Most of them are working hard to gain their bread, but others try to take advantage of the goodness of local citizens and they become beggars because they don’t find a place to work or simply don’t want to work because is easier to make money as a beggar.
When a large number of immigrant population is coming to a developed country due to open borders (the EU), the local population that has a small birth rate, but also a small death rate, could be affected over time due to the fact that the immigrant population from poor countries usually bring with them the same habits of giving birth to a large number of children because they receive financial aid from the local government (in contrast with the governments in their home countries).
Overpopulation in China.
Effects of Overpopulation?
The effects are the most important because overpopulation has become a serious matter of the 21st century due to the depletion of resources and a sustained destruction of the environment caused by the desperate need of resources.
A major issue appears when the number of population in a small area of the planet (one country), increases at an alarming rate that leads to the condition where the local environment is not able to sustain life as before.
Overpopulation mostly occurs in Asia today, because large countries with emerging economies like India and China still have an alarming birth rate.
Especially in India, the low rate of education among the population leads to a high birth rate.
India has become an issue regarding overpopulation only because the country is not developed enough (in terms of life conditions provided to the population), and the continuous increase of the number of people in the country is delaying government’s efforts to bring the economy at the level of the developed countries.
India has such a high birth rate today that will overtake China’s population in the next five years, reaching the number of over 1.4 billion people.
1. Depletion of natural resources
Depletion of the natural resources is caused by a very large number of people, which can no longer be sustained by the local environment.
Nature can produce a limited amount of fresh water and food over the year and if the number of people increases over the capacity of the local environment, the natural resources are depleted very fast.
The depletion of the natural resources brings environmental damage (not to mention the high level of pollution generated by the large number of people), and increases the level of aggression and violence among individuals due to the fight for the remaining resources.
2. Destruction of the environment
A very large number of people in a poor area will consume all the natural resources available in a very short time.
They will cut down all the trees in the area, will hunt down the entire wildlife available (for food), and will consume all the fresh water resources.
A large number of people will consume more energy, so the increased demand for energy will lead to a massive consumption of fossil fuels, which will affect the environment even more.
A large number of people living in poverty in India.
Solutions to Overpopulation
There are several solutions to stop overpopulation such as: improved education, better education, teaching people what is family planning, and tax exemptions to curb overpopulation.
If you check what countries are causing overpopulation on the planet, you will realize quickly that overpopulation is caused by two countries in Asia (India and China) with emerging economies, but with a large number of people that live in harsh poverty.
China’s economy has been improved lately, and that could be the reason why India will overtake China as population number in the next five years.
1. Improved education
A society can be civilized only by improving the level of education given to the children in school.
The people who did not benefit from a proper school education must be educated by the state for free.
Is the government’s interest to have an educated population to eradicate overpopulation.
2. Better education
Education must be taught in the primary school, children are growing fast and they need to know everything about their future sex life, how to protect themselves (especially the girls), what is the menstrual cycle, and what responsibility involves the apparition of a child.
3. Teaching people what is family planning
Family planning follows the sex education in schools.
An educated man will better understand what is family planning, and what responsibility brings the apparition of a new child in the family.
Educated families will better understand what family planning means because they will be aware of the financial resources required to raise a healthy and successful family.
4. Tax exemptions to curb overpopulation
Both educated or uneducated people can be granted by the government with tax exemption if their family has only one or two children.
Young people must be aware of the tax exemptions granted by the government before giving birth to the first child in the family.
The governments of the countries facing overpopulation must inform the population about the financial benefits brought by a small number of children in the family because only such measures can curb overpopulation.
Conclusion
The large number of people on the planet is also a consequence of the fact that the latest major war on planet Earth (world war II) has ended more than 70 years ago, so we had more than 70 years of peace, in which the population has flourished.
