Environmental Effects of

Overpopulation
Overpopulation and environmental impacts
• The relationship between overpopulation and environmental impacts
are often interrelated and complex
• Below are some of the key sustainability challenges associated with
overpopulation.
• Farming impacts
• Deforestation
• Eutrophication
• Loss of Fresh Water
• Global Warming
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.
Deforestation

• Deforestation in turn leads to a reduced ability to capture CO2, thus

increasing the greenhouse gas problem
• Deforestation is also strongly associated with loss of habitat and
extinctions
• Agriculture, as mentioned above, is responsible for nearly 80% of
global deforestation.
• Another 14 percent is attributed to logging, 5 percent to firewood
collection, and the balance resulting from other causes
Eutrophication

• Agricultural runoff is one of the main causes of eutrophication, the

presence of excessive nutrients in bodies of waster
• 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
Loss of Fresh 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 40 percent of the world's population
endure water scarcity, and that amount has been projected to skyrocket by
2030 as global demand for water increases by 50 percent
• 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 and Asia.
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 necessitates more demand for oil, coal, gas, and other
energy sources extracted from below the Earth’s surface that spew
carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere when burned, trapping
warm air inside like a greenhouse
• 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
Overpopulation and Social Impacts
• Growing population brings changes in social values and beliefs,
cultural behavior, traditions and customs of society
• Population problems means the problem of fulfilling the basic needs like housing,
food etc.
• Thus, the rapid population growth of population directly effects the economic,
social and environmental development of a country
• Below are some of the key sustainability challenges associated with
overpopulation
• Health facilities and services
• Education
• Cultural and cultural heritage
• Unemployment
• Drinking Water
Health Facilities and Services
• Healthy minds and power are the pillars of development of a nation
• People must be physically, socially and mentally healthy for the
development of any nation
• Thus, development of a nation depends upon the type and health
condition of the manpower
• Rapid population growth adversely affects the health services and facilities
• Health and services should be increased in proportion to growing
population
• At present, only 20 percent of total population is provided with health
services and facilities
Education
• Education is an important need for everyone
• It creates social, cultural and political awareness in people and makes
them advanced
• It helps in the complete development of man
• But the high rate of education has had an adverse effect on the
development of education
• The number of schools, teachers and physical facilities need to be
increase due to increased population
• The obstacle for quality education are the increase in population
Culture and Cultural Heritage
• Rapid population growth has degraded the environment
• Environmental pollution result in the destruction of structure of cultural
heritage
• The dust particles, various types of pollutants, emitted from different
industries, vehicles, mix in the air and pollute the atmosphere
• Growing population bring change in social value and beliefs, it also affects
marriage patterns, dresses and thinking of people
• The young boys and girls are becoming immoral due to deterioration in
our culture
• They are attracted towards western culture which affects our culture badly
Unemployment
• Humans has to work hard to fulfill their needs
• The main source of income is employment
• Unemployment causes economic problems along with social, political
and psychological evils
• Rapid population growth creates problem of unemployment, it is not
possible to provide job to all the people because government has
limited resources and means so it can create only limited opportunities
• Thus, control of pollution and its management is the only solution to
this problem
Drinking water
• Shortage of drinking water can be clearly seen in rural and urban
areas
• Due to tremendous increase in population, sources of water have
become polluted
• Insufficient water supply due to lack of conservation and maintenance
of existing sources of water
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