| Growing Population: Taking on the Monster Keep bringing home new fish and add them to your burgeoning aquatic collection. When you run out of tank space you always have the option of buying another tank and thereby keeping your passion alive! H uman population is exceeding the space our planet can provide us with, unfortunately our planet is not another fish tank. It cannot be replaced by another planet that can harbor life. Even though many scientists may be sanguine that if the earth loses its sparkle, Mars may replace it, it is still going to take some billion years or so before it can actually start supporting human life. Therefore we have to understand, our earth is one of its kinds and is being threatened by an omnipresent monster called population explosion. Human population growth is the biggest threat today to the world environment.Environment, it has been said, means all things to all people. No two individuals view environmental problems in quite the same way. But clearly for some effective action to be taken there has to be some global consensus on what the key issues are.1 “Growth for the sake of growth is an ideology of the cancer cell” - John Nichols - novelist, 1940 . Apparently “growth” has a double-edged meaning. It denotes expansion as well as development. Growth when spoken of in terms of “expansion”, indicates the process of becoming larger, bigger, and numerous. No doubt there has been growth in India, when we measure it in terms of expansion. India’s growing population is the best example of expansion. On the other hand, development means getting better, this may or may not involve expansion. India has made substantial progress in most spheres of development over the last 50 years. During the last two decades, the Indian economy has been growing at about 6 per cent per annum2.On the flip side, India is currently the largest contributor after China, to world population growth, adding about 17 million people every year. According to Census, 2001, the total population of India on 1 March 2001 stood at 1.2 billion persons. With this, India became only the second country in the world after China to cross the one billion mark. The growing population has resulted in large–scale environment degradation as a consequence of rapid urbanization. This in turn has lead to population pressures, industrialization and the indiscriminate use of non-renewable natural resources. Air, water and land are the three main components of our environment. The burgeoning population is creating havoc with the environment. The widespread use of liquid fuels in automobiles has meant increased production of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds. Increased use of automobiles in major cities has become a main source of air pollution. Again, the progress of industrialization alongside the indiscriminate use of our natural resources are all disturbing the environment and in turn affecting our economy. In the past few decades, environmental problems have taken centre stage in several on- going debates and these have resulted in many improvements and safeguards. India has made significant efforts in the field of environment protection, developing standards for both products and processes. India’s strong support of air quality and alternative fuel initiatives has brought about changes. The most striking example of this can be seen in Delhi. The recent Supreme Court order that all public transport switch to CNG has resulted in reduction of air pollution. Though the change is not as significant as was expected, we cannot undermine the relative change in the quality of air it has wrought. What we want to know, is whether we are overcoming problems faster than they arise and whether the trends are in the right direction.3 – Heseltine. Projection by the UN shows that if human population continues to grow at 1990 rates in each major region of the world, then the population would increase more than 130 fold in 160 years, estimated to be about 694 billion in 2150. Industrial Growth and Uncontrolled Urbanization Pollute Water, Air and Land Degradation of the environment has been the result of: ● The indiscriminate use of forest areas for fuel, power generation and irrigation purposes ● Poor management of irrigation systems, degrading soils, and the harmful side-effects of increased pesticide and fertilizer use ● Increased use of automobiles as a result of rapid economic growth - puts immense stress on the environment This scenario raises the issue of how to achieve environmentally sustainable economic development. So how we grow is what really matters. Even if there is substantial growth, it may not, however, guarantee prosperity for all. India’s growth, unfortunately, is like the erudite writing of a scholar - it leaves no impact on the common man. Environment Hazards Affecting the Economy Environment provides us a source of raw material and energy, it also lays down the context in which all human actions take place and sustains basic life-support systems. Thus it is critical for us to realize the fatal consequences its degradation and depletion can have over our economy. Fishermen, paddy cultivators, vegetable farmers and cattle owners find their livelihood base severely impacted by air and water pollution; they also find their family health slowly getting impaired. ● Using the sea as dumps for our wastes Soaring population in India over the years, without a corresponding build up of civic facilities, has resulted in the destruction of the nursery grounds for fisheries. In Orissa, while fishing was a booming business in 1997, it faced severe reversals on account of the OFCL ( Oswal Chemical and Fertilizer Ltd ), a Rs 2,000-crore fertilizer plant, producing 2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of Di Ammonia Phosphate (DAP) fertilizer. Set up in 1999, it is one of the largest producers in India .But situated just 5 kilometers from the deep sea harbour in the port town of Paradip, it has ruined the livelihood of 50% fishermen. Agriculture too was hit by the OCFL. Coconut produce came down by 75%. Bamboo produce dropped to 50%-60% of the normal. Cashew was also badly hit. Environment- health hazards Environmental factors play a big role in influencing the morbidity and mortality of a nation. Some of these environmental factors include sanitation and safe drinking water. In the 1991 Indian census, information was gathered at the household level on basic amenities like toilet facilities, safe drinking water and electricity. Data was also collected on types of fuel families used for cooking (cowdung cake, wood, coal, charcoal, kerosene, cooking gas, electricity). On the basis of this data, a Household Misery Index (HMI) was created, this reflected the extent of deprivation people suffered in regard to basic needs. India’s growth, unfortunately, is like the erudite writing of a scholar - it leaves no impact on the common man -- Aastha Swaroop Apart from environmental factors influencing morbidity and mortality, India faces a much bigger problem in the area of communicable diseases. Natural Resources and Booming Indian Economy “Ensuring environmental sustainability” is one of the eight Millennium Development Goals, pledging the environment’s compatibility to long-term economic growth, human development, and the stability of the planet. India’s inland water resources comprising rivers, canals, ponds and lakes and marine resources provide employment to nearly 6 million people in the fisheries sector. India is the sixth largest producer of fish in the world and second largest in inland fish production. Exports play a vital role in our economy. It is an important source of foreign exchange and it is necessary to maintain the stability of the economy. India’s major mineral resources such as coal, iron ore, limestone and others, can help bring in energy-intensive industries which will have access to quality power at reasonable rates, provided right investments are made in this sector. Since the 90’s, there were reforms in four areas, product market, land market, infrastructure development and reduced government ownership. They have resulted in impressive improvement in industrial performance and GDP growth. However, it is vital to look at growth keeping in mind the fact that it must be inclusive, sustainable and be supported by innovation. A Call for the Earth Warriors As mentioned above, the solutions are right “out there”. What is missing is the zeal to take up responsibilities. It is widely recognized that faster economic growth is key to development. But it cannot be achieved at the cost of the environment. The example quoted in this article explains how environmental depletion devastates the lives of the most vulnerable sections of society. Keeping this in mind, the need of the hour is to come up with the most workable solutions. q "Mankind is looking for food not just on this planet but on others. Perhaps the time has now come to put that process into reverse. Instead of controlling the environment for the benefit of the population, maybe we should control the population to ensure the survival of our environment" |
